'Janata Party-BJP working on tie-up for TN polls'

Chennai, Mar 01: Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy today (Mar 01, 2006) said his Party was exploring a tie-up with the BJP to kick off the proposed Hindu front in the forthcoming elections to the Tamil Nadu assembly.

Addressing a press conference here, he said a BJP senior leader, who is in-charge of Tamil Nadu Affairs, had also given a call for such a tie-up, saying that he was keen to get the Janata Party in.

''If they are ready, we are ready'', Dr Swamy said, and added ''the BJP was a part of Janata Party,'' when asked if he himself was likely to join the BJP.

Dr Swamy hit out at the alliance between the ruling AIADMK and the Dalit Panthers of India (DPI), claiming the latter was avowedly a supporter of the LTTE. ''The tie-up only shows that AIADMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's stand against the LTTE was ''false.'' ''I condemn the alliance which is an instance of Ms Jayalalithaa sacrificing the national interest for the sake of personal interest of recapturing power'', Dr Swamy said.

Asked if the Puthiah Thamizhagam (PT) party would be admitted, if the BJP-Janata Party tie-up materialises, Dr Swamy said that PT leader Dr K Krishnasamy had ditched the Janata Party after having contested the 1996 assembly election on his Party ticket.

Dr Swamy said both the ruling AIADMK and the DMK led DPA front are ''anti-nationals'', adding the MDMK party in the DPA was also openly supporting the LTTE.

Speaking on US President George Bush's visit and the nuclear agreement, which India was to discuss with US, Dr Swamy said he welcomed Bush's visit as part of India's policy of friendly ties with all countries.

But as far as the nuclear talks are concerned, India should not give up anything to the US, he added. ''India must be recognised as a nuclear power and given the right to Veto in the United Nations. But the nuclear agreement envisaged with the US does not give this recognition to India'', Dr Swamy claimed.

UNI