Amma changes tune, hits Cong high note

She hadn’t forgotten her script, she had merely revised it. In a reminder of how Tamil Nadu’s main political alliances keep changi...

She hadn’t forgotten her script, she had merely revised it. In a reminder of how Tamil Nadu’s main political alliances keep changing their equations with parties that rule at the Centre, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa today heaped praise on Congress leaders.

Forgotten was the issue of Sonia Gandhi’s ‘‘foreign origins’’. ‘‘That came up in the heat of the electoral battle and it was in that spirit that the issue of Sonia’s foreign origins was raised,’’ said Jayalalithaa. ‘‘It is not meant to be interpreted as a personal attack.’’

Instead, after her meeting with Dr Manmohan Singh here today, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister complimented Sonia for declining the PM’s post. ‘‘That was a good decision,’’ she said.

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Then, as she spoke on the PM, it was difficult to reconcile her words with someone who had fought against the Congress coalition so recently. ‘‘I first interacted with the PM when he was Finance Minister and I became CM for the first time, and I have very pleasant memories of those days,’’ she said warmly. ‘‘He is a perfect gentleman, full of courtesy and kindness, and a man of great learning.’’

The Tamil Nadu CM presented a 60-page memorandum to Singh and had a 35-minute meeting with him, touching on the Cauvery project, Chennai airport, POTA review and status of the Tamil language.

Then, quick to score some points off her real rivals, she pointed out that the 12 Union Ministers from Tamil Nadu had done nothing for the state. ‘‘Politics should not come in the way of development,’’ Jayalalithaa said. ‘‘None of these 12 ministers has sought an appointment with me with concerns for the state.’’

If anything, she said, these ministers were obstructing development in the state by refusing to release funds or withholding clearances. Asked if she had complained to the PM about his ministers, Jayalalithaa replied, ‘‘I will not descend to their level.’’

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She stressed she was ‘‘independent’’ and her party, the AIADMK, only gave ‘‘issue-based’’ support to the NDA. ‘‘We are not part of any alliance at the Centre,’’ she said. ‘‘We continue to give NDA support but we also continue to remain independent.’’

Apart from persuading the PM to notify the demand to declare Tamil as a classical language, Jayalalithaa also asked him to declare Thirukkural as ‘‘national literature’’ because the ‘‘work was not religion specific.’’

She was cryptic on future political alliances in the state. ‘‘Nothing remains static in life,’’ she said. ‘‘You will have to wait and see.’’ On a possible alliance with the Congress, she said, ‘‘No comments.’’

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