New Delhi, June 08: Tamil Nadu politics on Monday took the centrestage in the Rajya Sabha where members from DMK clashed with those from AIADMK over insinuations against certain Central ministers from the state.
The House witnessed uproar when V Maitreyan (AIADMK) said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was initially opposed to the induction of two members from the state in his government because they were “tainted”.
But, subsequently Singh had to yield and induct some such ministers, the AIADMK member said, adding “some colleagues from Tamil Nadu do not bring credit to your government.” The Prime Minister was present in the House.
“Wahi hota hai jo manzoore khuda hota hai (only that happens which God wants) … and khuda is sitting in Chennai,” he said, in an obvious reference to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, whose DMK is a key ally of the UPA.
Participating in the resumed discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, he described the nine ministers from Tamil Nadu as “navaratnas (nine jewels)” and said they were “chamaktey sitarey (shining stars)”.
This infuriated members from DMK and Congress, particularly D Siva and Jayanthi Natarajan, who raised strong objection to the AIADMK member’s remarks.
Fresh trouble broke out when Maitreyan referred to the 2G spectrum allocation issue alleging that the government had to suffer heavy loss in the “mega scam”.
Referring to the Congress manifesto promising that fruits of IT revolution would go to the masses, he said the fruit was going to Gopalapuram — a veiled reference to the place where the Chief Minister resides.
The reference to Gopalapuram added fuel to the fire with Siva (DMK) rushing to the aisle in protest and Natarajan (Cong) terming it as a “cheap and malicious” charge.
As both wanted the remarks to be expunged, AIADMK members were on their feet and countered them vociferously.
Maitreyan then cited newspaper reports that a medical college run by a Central minister in Chennai was allegedly demanding Rs 20 lakh as capitation fee for admission. “This clearly shows how tainted your ministers are,” he said.
The AIADMK member said unlike in 2004 when the Prime Minister’s “hands were tied”, this time “you have enough power to flex your muscles” as Congress has a clear mandate.
Maitreyan alleged that electoral malpractices were committed in the state in the recent Lok Sabha polls.
He said AIADMK would support the women’s reservation bill and demanded a ban on Participatory Notes to check flow of funds to terrorists.
He also demanded retrieval of Kachchativu island from Sri Lanka
to solve the problems being faced by Tamil Nadu fishermen.
—-Agencies