AIADMK downplays Premalatha's jibe, denies deadlock in talks

Salem/Chennai: Downplaying DMDK leader Premalatha's jibe that the 37 MPs of his party got nothing from the Centre for Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami maintained that the media misinterpreted her statement whereas she had only said the state could have got much more with so many AIADMK members in Parliament if only the party was part of the Government at the Centre.

She had said, at her press conference at the DMDK headquarters at Chennai on Friday, that TN could not get 'good projects' from the Centre despite the AIADMK winning 37 out of the 39 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, only because it was not part of the winning combine, the NDA. While this was what she had stated, the media had misinterpreted it, the CM told reporters at Salem on Saturday.

Asked if there was deadlock in alliance talks with the DMDK, he said, "Each party has its stand and will pursue that while negotiating alliance for success. There is no impasse (over talks with the DMDK)".

However, his senior colleague in the Cabinet, D Jayakumar told reporters in Chennai that Premalatha should not have spoken in such fashion (rebuking the AIADMK MPs) at a time when her party was negotiating poll alli-ance with his party. "But since we have been broug-ht up in the political culture of forget-forgive, we will do so", said the Fisheries Minister.

Meanwhile, Electricity Minister P Thangamani told reporters at Namak-kal late Saturday evening that the final picture on the AIADMK alliance would just round the corner. "You will get all the details by tomorrow (Sunday) evening", he said, looking cheerful.

Sources said the DMDK has settled for the AIADMK offer of "four seats and nothing more". Irked by the media reports and the state intelligence inputs that the DMDK was negotiating alliance simultaneously with both the DMK and the AIADMK, the ruling party had given Captain's camp to say a "firm yes or no" by the end of Saturday, failing which the offer of four seats would lapse.

"The DMDK had no option but to accept the offer since the DMK door is firmly shut and it would be disastrous if Premalatha decides to carry out her boastful claim that her party could even go it alone if a proper deal did not work out with the parties queuing up before Captain's gate", said a source, adding that Kallakurichi, Trichy, Virudhunagar and North Chennai were the seats likely for DMDK.