Campaigning in support of party nominee Singai Jinnah here on Monday night, she said that if DMK chief Karunanidhi and the Congress were responsible for ceding Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka, Ms. Jayalalithaa failed to keep her promise of retrieving the islet, which she made after coming to power for the first time in 1991.

Whenever Sri Lankan navy arrested the fishermen and confiscated their boats, Ms. Jayalalithaa would write letters to the Prime Minister and remain silent, she alleged.

Ms. Jayalalithaa could not find a lasting solution to the fishermen issue during the last five years, Ms. Premelatha said.

The DMK and the Congress were also responsible for the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka and the time had come to drive out both Ms. Jayalalithaa and Mr. Karunanidhi from electoral politics, she said.

She also criticised Ms. Jayalalithaa for not attending the funeral of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in Rameswaram.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Ministers of neighbouring States arrived to pay their homage, Ms. Jayalalithaa chose to fly to Kodanadu for taking rest. Mr. Karunanidhi also failed to turn up, she added.

Her husband and party chief Vijayakant stayed in Rameswaram for two days and returned after paying a tearful homage to Kalam, she also said.

Mr. Vijayakant joined hands with the leaders of the People’s Welfare Front (PWF) in deference to the wishes of the people, she said.

New history

Claiming that he enjoyed the support of the youth and the new voters, she said that the DMDK-PWF combine was set to create a new history in the May 16 Assembly election and Mr. Vijayakant would become ‘people’s Chief Minister’.

(thehindu.com)