Rahul charges Jayalalithaa with not meeting people in crisis times

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday came down heavily on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa for corruption and also charged her with not meeting the people and trying to know their pain.

Addressing election rallies in three cities - Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore, he assured the people of providing a clean government if his Congress-DMK alliance won the May 16 poll.

"Corruption has gone up to new heights in Tamil Nadu. New industries are not coming to the state fearing corruption," he said, adding the state has become backward in areas like steel, petrochemical and other industries.

The Congress vice chief said the state does not need a chief minister who stays behind the four walls of her house and does not come out to see the flood-affected parts of the city.

"I could come from Delhi but the chief minister could not walk out of her house," Gandhi said.

Noting leaders like K.Kamaraj, M.G.Ramachandran and K.Karunanidhi listened to people, mingled with them and understood them and were humble, he said that on the other hand, Jayalalithaa is convinced that she need not meet anybody and is of the view that there in nothing that anybody could tell her in the state.

Gandhi said the state does not need a government that crushes dissent.

Coming down heavily on the AIADMK government, he said by giving freebies like fans, mixies worth Rs.5,000, the government has taken away Rs.60,000 from each family through liquor sales.

Asserting that a Congress-DMK government will bring in prohibition in the state, he cited the story of a class nine girl Sathya of Theni district who lost her father due to alcoholism.

"Her mother also passed away soon after. Now this ninth standard student is an orphan," Gandhi said.

"Ironically the girl's name is Sathya which means truth. And this is the truth about Tamil Nadu," he remarked.

Gandhi said the AIADMK government has increased the number of liquor shops in the state from 1,800 in 2011 to 6,800 till date and asserted that if they won, they "will make the state free of liquor shops".

He said the state has the highest percentage of landless agricultural labourers and 90 percent of the Dalits in Tamil Nadu are landless.

--IANS

vj/vd