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Opposition to Article 356 is not support to Karunanidhi, says Vaiko

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary and member of Parliament V Gopalswamy, aka Vaiko, today asserted that his party was always opposed to the use of Article 356 of the Constitution, but this should not be misconstrued that he was against "throwing out" the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government in Tamil Nadu.

Talking to newsmen after visiting the family members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad functionary K R Paramasivam, who was murdered in Madurai recently, he said attempts would be made to dislodge the Karunanidhi government through mass agitation. The MDMK would take part in any agitation organised by the All India Anna DMK and its allies in this regard, he added.

Alleging that Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had failed to curb terrorism in the state, he said if precautionary measures had been taken, the February 14 serial blasts in Coimbatore could have been averted. Fundamentalists were encouraged by some "irresponsible speeches" made by Karunanidhi, he charged.

Referring to Buta Singh's removal from the Union cabinet, he said Prime Minister A B Vajpayee had taken the "correct" decision. However, those who had been charge-sheeted in corruption cases should not be equated with those who were facing political cases, he added.

UNI

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