Jaya flays MK for being busy with film in time of crisis

Chennai, Jul 7 (UNI) AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa today flayed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for being busy with his feature film, while the state was facing a series of crises.

In a statement here, she alleged that when the state was facing a crisis due to a severe shortage of petrol and diesel, the Chief Minister, instead of resolving the issue, was busy watching the preview of his film 'Uliyin Osai' (Music of the Chisel).

On June one, normal life came to a standstill in the state due to fuel shortage, but Mr Karunanidhi, instead of taking corrective steps, had spent the day on entertainment, she claimed, describing it as an ''anti-people act''.

When she was the Chief Minister, she was to inaugurate a music programme at the Music Academy in December 2005, but cancelled the programme after the weather office forecast heavy rains due to a trough of low pressure in Bay of Bengal.

She had decided against taking part in an entertainment programme, when the people were already reeling under the havoc wrought by heavy rains and another spell threatened to hit them, she claimed.

However, Mr Karunanidhi chose to watch the film when the people were suffering from power crisis, deterioration of law and order, fuel crisis and spiralling of prices. Adding to the woes was the truck strike, which triggered the price rise by 20 per cent, she said.

She said Mr Karunanidhi, who was hailed as the guiding leader of the Congress led UPA Government at the Centre, could have hold talks with the Centre and averted the truck strike.

Now that the truckers had called off the strike, the Centre and State Governments should take steps to roll back the 20 per cent hike in prices of commodities.

Stating that there was no protection to the people in the state, Ms Jayalalithaa said Mr Karunanidhi should quit and go back to the film industry.

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