'Anti-Congressism Third Front's only agenda'

Madurai, June 24: Lashing out at the recently launched United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister M Veerappa Moily has termed the Third Front as the coming together of opportunists, whose only agenda was ''anti-congressism''.

It has no ideology or porgramme and the sole motto was opposing the Congress, he said addressing an election meeting, here last night.

In his opinion, the UNPA, the third front comprising regional parties, was a rudderless ship since it had neither a President nor any office bearer. In the absence of ideology, leadership tussle had commenced the moment it was christened, he quipped.

The Congress leader said it was strange that AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa had joined hands with TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu, described by her as a fraud on the floor of the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

The AIADMK leader was accused of betraying her mentor, the late M G Ramachandran, even when he was alive.

Claiming that the Congress was in possession of its archives a letter written by her to Rajiv Gandhi, urging him to install her as Chief Minister, replacing MGR, Mr Moily said this was nothing but treachery.

The Congress veteran, lambasting Ms Jayalalithaa for her 'autocratic behaviour', said during her election campaign even senior politicians like Finance Minister P Chidambaram were made to stand on the dais, which had only one seat for her. This was in stark contrast to the culture of accommodation and democratic functioning, which the DMK president personified, he added.

A victory for the Congress in the byelection, in his view would strengthen the fight for social justice and the cause of the poor.

From the DMK, 30 Ministers have camped in the constituency to carry out election work to ensure the victory of the Congress nominee, K S K Rajendran, making him the common candidate of the Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA), he observed.

UNI

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