AIADMK to withdraw its minister

She said she proposed to visit Delhi on April 12 to hold discussions with leading political personalities to explore the possibilities of forming a Government that “delivers rather than promises and that does not discriminate on the grounds of religion, caste or region”.

Following the Union Cabinet’s rejection of Jayalalitha’s demands for sacking Defence Minister George Fernandes, reinstating dismissed Navy Chief Vishnu Bhagwat and a JPC probe into the allegations made against Fernandes by Bhagwat, the AIADMK chief went into a huddle with senior party leaders.

Earlier, the AIADMK postponed its public meeting scheduled for April 12 at Coimbatore. A statement from the party headquarters said the new date would be announced later but attributed no reason for the postponement.

Jayalalitha had invited Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to the meeting as also Trinamool Congress leader Mamta Banerjee.

In the wake of the AIADMK’s statements against George Fernandes on the Bhagwat issue, Mamata Banerjee had issued a statement that she would not participate in the Coimbatore meeting.

There was speculation in AIADMK circles that Jayalalitha would call on President K R Narayanan during her Delhi visit. Some leaders in the AIADMK also said a meeting with AICC president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi is not ruled out.