Jaya says she will attend House only if allowed to speak

Chennai, May 27: Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK General secretary J Jayallaithaa today said that she would return to the assembly only if she was allowed to express her views fully.

Talking to newspersons in the lobby after participating in the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address, Ms Jayalalithaa said she was given just 30 minutes time to take part in the debate although she wanted at least 95 minutes.

She wanted to utilise the time to be given to the Leader of the Opposition to speak in the debate but it was denied. Even during the 30 minute she was allotted, there were too many interruptions, she charged.

''There's no point in coming if they don't allow me to speak. I don't know whether they will give me a chance,'' she said adding her coming back to the House was also based on the Business Advisory Committee's (BAC) decision on revoking the suspension of her party MLAs.

''The AIADMK is the main opposition but they have expelled 60 MLAs of the party. As the sole representative of the AIADMK and former Chief Minister, I appealed that adequate time be alloted to the party. But they have denied it. This is murder of democracy,' she charged.

Ms Jayalalithaa said during her rule, the then Deputy Leader of the Opposition Duraimurugan and DMK member Arcot N Veerasamy were allowed to speak in the absence of the then Leader of the Opposition K Anbazhagan. But that chance was denied to her now. The ruling party was not able to answer several questions raised by her on waiver of cooperative loans and distribution of two acres of land to landless farmers, she claimed.

When she pointed out that the Anti-Conversion Act was no more in force in the state following promulgation of an Ordinance, repealing the Act and cited a Supreme Court ruling, the Chief Minister made fun of the SC verdict, she charged and asked whether they could do it outside the House.

When newspersons later asked Mr Karunanidhi about Ms Jayalalithaa's remarks that she would return to the House only if she was given an opportunity to speak, the Chief Minister shot back ''was she was given opportunity or not.'' When the newspersons replied in the affirmative, Mr Karunanidhi said ''thanks''.

UNI