Vaiko's exit won't affect BJP in Tamil Nadu, says Soundararajan

The chief of Tamil Nadu's BJP unit, Tamilisai Soundararajan, on Monday lashed out at Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) chief Vaiko for snapping ties with her party, and said that the decision would not affect the saffron party's strength or growth in Tamil Nadu.

"If a party decides that they want to go away then let them go, but reasons which Vaiko is giving is unacceptable. The exit of Vaiko will not affect the BJP's strength or growth in Tamil Nadu," Soundararajan told ANI here.

She further hit out at Vaiko for blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"We had formed an alliance and we... fought the parliamentary elections.

Vaiko was repeatedly blaming our Prime Minister and I as state president strongly condemn Vaiko's statement. As we had formed the alliance, we didn't want it to disintegrate," she added.

MDMK chief decided to walkout of the BJP earlier today. The decision in this regard was taken at a party meeting held here earlier in the day which passed a resolution for snapping ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The MDMK resolution alleged that the ruling BJP Government at the Centre had not taken care of the people's needs of Tamil Nadu. The resolution also alleged that the BJP Government had given permission to review safety aspects of the Mullaperiyar dam.

The MDMK resolution also criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for wishing Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa victory in the elections in that country.

The MDMK chief blamed the Centre for adopting double standards on the issue of fishermen and alleged it was against the welfare of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The resolution also criticized the Centre for allowing neighbouring states Karnataka and Kerala to build dams, thereby obstructing water to Tamil Nadu.