Are you not corrupt, Bardhan asks DMK

Talking to mediapersons after a two-day national executive committee meeting of the party, Bardhan said it was actually for the courts to decide on the corruption cases. The Election Commission “will decide and not MDMK general secretary Vaiko, whether Jayalalitha can contest the elections or not,” he stressed.

Asked who would be projected as the leader of their front, Bardhan first said there was no need to do that. He, however, added that the leader of the largest party would be projected. He said this when told that the people of Tamil Nadu always voted for a particular leader.

On the question of a coalition set-up in Tamil Nadu, Bardhan endorsed the slogan of CPM general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet: “Let power come first. Then decide sharing of power.”

When told that TMC leader G K Moopanar was very particular about sharing of power in the State, he said: “Moopanar wants it, but not the way you (media) put it.”

At the end of this month, “we will have a clear picture about the elements of alliance, ” he said. The discussions with Jayalalitha and Moopanar were fruitful. However, he refused to answer any questions as to whether the PMK would be part of the AIADMK front, stating that he could not answer hypothetical questions.

Describing as “a negative trend” the emergence of caste-based political parties, he lamented that the country was still being divided in the lines of caste. He said he could not answer whether such caste-based political parties would be included in the AIADMK front as nobody had approached them.

On the possibility of expanding the AIADMK front, he said it would happen “if the NDA breaks up.”