Opposition in Tamil Nadu slams Arun Jaitley for meeting Jayalalithaa

CHENNAI: Political parties in Tamil Nadu have kicked up a furore over the Sunday meeting between Union finance minister Arun Jaitley and former chief minister J Jayalalithaa at her Poes Garden residence here. DMK, Congress and BJP ally , PMK, have criticized Jaitley for meeting “a convict in a corruption case“.

While DMK chief M Karunanidhi wondered if it was proper for a Union minister to meet a convicted person, a Facebook post by his son MK Stalin said, “Is this what they promised to the people of India when they said they will give a clean and corrupt-free government?

What next? Will the entire government (machinery) work towards getting her acquitted in the corruption case in the Karnataka HC?“ PMK leader S Ramadoss, too, joined in the condemnation, saying Jaitley should have avoided the meeting with Jayalalithaa. “Why should a Union minister meet a convicted person? It is highly condemnable. It gives rise to suspicion... The Centre should explain,“ he told reporters in Salem.

TNCC leader EVKS Elan Govan alleged that Jayalalithaa had 'surrendered' to BJP for personal gains and for betraying the interests of Tamil Nadu. Criticizing Jayalalithaa for her “opportunistic“ politics, he wanted to know why she was supporting BJP in Parliament when she had been earlier opposed to them.

Jaitley on Monday avoided questions about his meeting with Jayalalithaa.