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Jaya's charge against Chidambaram, Maran is betrayal of state, says Karunanidhi

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today lashed out at All India Anna DMK general secretary J Jayalalitha for her criticism that former Union ministers P Chidambaram and Murasoli Maran had ruined the economy of the country by allowing foreign investments at the cost of domestic industry.

Replying to the discussion on the demand for grants for industries in the state assembly, he said Jayalalitha's charge amounted to betrayal of the state, as the two former ministers had facilitated the state's industrial development.

Jayalalitha, whose only legacy was corruption, had no moral right to criticise the former ministers, he said, and quoted the Economist Intelligence Unit report published during her tenure, as saying that "if there is any state for reputation for corruption it is Tamil Nadu".

Karunanidhi also ridiculed the AIADMK ministers in the Union cabinet for "not attending" to the work relating to their portfolios.

Their only work appears to be to get the state government dismissed and "save" their leader Jayalalitha, he charged.

However, he would not fault ministers of other coalition partners from the state -- Vazhapadi K Ramamurthy, Rangarajan Kumaramangalam and Dalit Ezhilmalai -- as they were looking after their portfolios "even while criticising us", Karunanidhi said.

UNI

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