Centre, BJP have no role in instability in AIADMK, says Venkaiah Naidu

Union govt did not interfere 'unless in an extreme case scenario', says Venkaiah Naidu

Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said the Centre wanted a stable government in Tamil Nadu and neither it nor the BJP had any role in the present "internal instability" in the ruling AIADMK in that state.

"The BJP or the Centre has no role in the internal instability in the AIADMK. The Centre does not interfere in the affairs of the states. We want a stable government in Tamil Nadu for the sake of development," the Union Urban Development Minister told reporters here.

"The people there (Tamil Nadu) had voted for Amma (Jayalalithaa) but unfortunately, she is no more. The party (AIADMK) should resolve its differences for the sake of the people," he said.

Refuting the allegation levelled by the opposition that the BJP-led NDA at the Centre was meddling with the affairs of the states, Naidu asserted that the union government did not interfere "unless in an extreme case scenario".

"The opposition has developed a habit of blaming everything on the Centre. Any incident that may happen in any remote corner of the country, the opposition blames it on the Centre. But it must be remembered that law-and-order is a state matter and the Centre does not interfere in it," he said on the sidelines of a meeting here.

"The Centre will not interfere unless in an extreme case," said Naidu, who was here to review the implementation of schemes in the eight north-eastern states under his ministries — information and broadcasting, urban development and housing and urban poverty alleviation.

Regarding the opposition blaming faulty electronic voting machines (EVMs) for its recent electoral loses, Naidu said, "Earlier, when they (opposition) would win elections and we would lose, they found no fault with the EVMs. Now they are calling the same EVMs as Every Vote to Modi."

The opposition charges were "absurd", he said, adding, "They are unable to digest the reality."

Naidu also took a jibe at the Congress by describing the party as a "sinking ship" which was "fast turning into a notional party from a national one".

"All its (Congress) leaders and members are leaving the party and joining the BJP. It will soon cease to be a national party and remain just as a notional party," he claimed.

Naidu declined to comment on demands within the Congress for handing over the party's reins to its vice-president Rahul Gandhi. "It is an internal matter of the Congress. BJP will not say anything about it.

"The Congress believes in dynastic politics. The same family has been leading it. BJP is a democratic party. We cannot comment on their leadership change," he said.