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In a significant development, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday asked the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham, its ally in Tamil Nadu, to clarify its stand on their ties in state politics.
Union Minister of State for Shipping S Thirunavukkarasar also expressed hope that the DMK would continue in the BJP-NDA for the next Lok Sabha polls in the State.
Talking to newspersons in Chennai, Union Minister of State for Shipping S Thirunavukkarasar pointed out that the DMK had some time back snapped ties with the state BJP though it continues to be part of the National Democratic Alliance at the Centre and still has three ministers in the Vajpayee cabinet.
An aide of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa before he joined the BJP, Thirunavukkarasar criticised Congress cadres for burning her effigies.
He said the BJP had no special relationship with the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, but added that ties between the Centre and the state government were 'cordial'.
Thirunavukkarasar condemned the chief minister for criticising Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the context of the Cauvery water dispute but agreed with her stand that only a natural-born Indian should become the prime minister of the country.
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