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Jaya repeats demand to sack Karunanidhi

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary J Jayalalitha today reiterated her demand for the dismissal of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government, alleging that the law and order situation, particularly the aspect concerning national security, was worsening.

Talking to reporters after an hour long meeting with Prime Minister A B Vajpayee at his home in New Delhi, Jayalalitha said, ''We do want the dismissal of the DMK government. But everything has to be done at a proper time and a certain procedure has to be followed.''

The former Tamil Nadu chief minister said her party has brought to the Centre's notice, through representations, the situation on the ground in the state.

The Union home minister had already made a ''strong statement'', she said, and her party would constantly appeal to the Centre to take appropriate action against Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's government.

Jayalalitha, however, said she did not discuss with Vajpayee the question of dismissing the DMK government.

The only purpose of her visit to Delhi was to meet the prime minister to seek his government's support in restoring control of the Mercantile Bank of Tamil Nadu to the Nadar community.

She led a delegation which submitted a memorandum to the prime minister in this connection, Jayalalitha said.

Asked when she expected an assembly election in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha said she was not an astrologer.

She also refused to elaborate on her statement that the dismissal had to come at a proper time and through a right procedure.

Earlier, on her arrival at Vajpayee's home, reporters sought her reaction to the prime minister's statement in the Rajya Sabha that the DMK government would not be dismissed. Jayalalitha expressed surprise at the statement, asking reporters whether Vajpayee had in fact made such a statement. She was, however, quick to add that he must have made it in some context.

Asked after the meeting whether she had asked Vajpayee in what context he had made the remark, Jayalalitha replied in the negative.

Replying to questions relating to the expansion of the Vajpayee ministry, she said she had been told earlier that more ministers of her party and its allies would be accommodated during such an exercise. Her party was, however, not making any demand in this connection, she said.

On R K Kumar virtually being given independent charge of banking and revenue in the finance ministry, she said this had been agreed upon earlier.

Jayalalitha said members of the ''retrieval committee'' relating to the Mercantile Bank were part of the delegation which met Vajpayee.

''The prime minister gave us a patient hearing and promised to look into the matter at the earliest.''

The backward community of Nadars, which had started the bank 75 years ago had been deprived of its control. Over the years, the deposits of the bank had grown to Rs 16 billion, she said. ''We do not want this bank to fall into the hands of unscrupulous people.'' She, however, refused to elaborate. ''The RBI is seized of the matter and all the details are contained in the memorandum.''

BJP leader Jaswant Singh, who was also present at the press briefing, said the matter related to banking laws, and the details would be made known at a proper time.

UNI

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