Jaya terms Soren's conviction a blot

Chennai, Dec 5 (UNI) AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa today termed the conviction of former Union Minister Shibu Soren in a murder case 'a blot in Indian Parliamentary history.' Stating that the 'affront' could have been avoided, she wondered why Mr Soren had been inducted into the Union Ministry again and again despite the cases against him.

On the unveiling of AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran's statue in Parliament House, she said it had been announced that Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee would unveil the statue.

But as the General Secretary of the AIADMK, she had personally invited Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekawat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to take part in the function, she said.

BJP leaders A B Vajpayee and L K Advani had also been invited for the ceremony, she added.

Attaching no political significance to the invitations extended to Congress and BJP leaders, Ms Jayalalithaa said it was the BJP-led NDA Government, which accorded permission for the installation of the MGR statue in Parliament House. As the Congress-led UPA Government was in power now, leaders of both parties had been invited, she said.

She noted it was the AIADMK, which took efforts for installation of DMK founder C N Annadurai's statue in Parliament House.

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