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PMK will stand by Jayalalitha even if she walks out of BJP coalition, says Ramadoss

Pattali Makkal Katchi founder-leader Dr S Ramadoss has asserted that the PMK will stand by All India Anna DMK general secretary J Jayalalitha even if she decided to quit the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre.

Replying to questions at a press conference in Madras, he said the PMK would endorse any decision taken by Jayalalitha on the issue of continuing in the Vajpayee government at the Centre.

He, however, asserted that there was no threat to the government following Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy's decision to walk out of the BJP-led alliance.

Stating that the PMK was not happy about Dr Swamy's exit, he said the JP was very much in the AIADMK-led front in Tamil Nadu. Dr Swamy should make efforts to dislodge the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam regime in the state instead of trying to create problems for the Vajpayee government, he added.

Replying to a question, he said the PMK endorsed Jayalalitha's demand for removal of Ramakrishna Hegde and Ram Jethmalani from the Union Cabinet, as they were facing charges in court. She was taking crucial decisions after duly consulting her allies. "But we need not be consulted on each and every issue," he said.

Reiterating his earlier demand that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi should step down owning moral responsibility for the Coimbatore serial blasts and the ruling DMK's poor performance in the Lok Sabha poll, he said Karunanidhi need not wait for the Centre to dismiss him.

He said the PMK was for scrapping Article 356 from the Constitution. However, the Article was still in the statute book and the situation in the state warranted its use, he claimed.

Dr Ramadoss denied that the dismissal of the DMK government for allowing Muslim fundamentalism to grow would prevent others from voicing genuine issues concerning the minorities. He termed the white paper released by the Tamil Nadu government on the Coimbatore blasts as an eyewash.

On the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, he said the Centre should intervene and work for the cessation of hostilities in the island nation. When pointed out that following the sacking of the then Karunanidhi government for allegedly abetting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the real casualty was the Sri Lankan Tamils, Dr Ramadoss said he was still committed to the cause of the suffering Tamils of Sri Lanka.

Stating that he would not press for the inclusion of the Sri Lankan Tamils's issue in the agenda of the coordination committee meeting of the BJP-led alliance, he said he would raise the issue later.

Dr Ramadoss demanded reservation for Dalits, Scheduled Tribes, and backward classes in the appointment of judges to the high courts and Supreme Court. He would meet the prime minister to press this demand, he said.

UNI

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