Chennai: Giving the thumbs down to the three-year-old UPA-II government, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today said the country was in a “state of drift” and the situation was “almost” as if there was no government at the Centre.
“The average citizen feels that there is no government at the Centre. The country is in a state of drift. It is almost as if there is no government at the Centre,” the AIADMK chief told reporters when asked to rate the UPA’s performance.
Backing PA Sangma. PTI
Jayalalithaa’s remarks come a day after the Congress-led UPA coalition celebrated three years in office.
Asked if Lok Sabha polls would be held ahead of the 2014 schedule, Jayalalithaa said she did not want to speculate.
To a question if she would take up with the BJP the candidature of PA Sangma for presidentship, she said she had spoken to political parties “whom I know”, apparently referring to the telephonic conversation she had on Sunday with different leaders, including BJP’s LK Advani, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat and TDP chief M Chandrababu Naidu.
Asked whether she got any assurance from them, she said “I have made a request to certain political parties and leaders whom I know well to give their support to Sangma in the presidential election. I prefer to wait and watch. I have no further comments to make on the matter.”
Jayalalithaa and her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik have strongly pitched for Sangma’s candidature. But Sangma’s own party NCP has rebuffed his moves, while major political parties have shown no enthusiasm over his bid.
PTI
