Advani describes AIADMK as a 'natural ally'

Chennai, Jan 15 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran Lal Krishna Advani has described Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa-led All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) as a 'natural ally' of his political outfit.

Speaking on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary celebrations of Tamil weekly 'Thuglaq' in Chennai on Saturday, Advani hailed Jayalalithaa for lending unconditional support to the BJP in Parliament.

"When I think in terms of the kind of political parties that associate and cooperate with us, we happen to be the principal opposition against the present government and among the parties that have been continuously cooperating with us, helping us in all respect, it is not nearly- AIADMK may not be a part of the NDA but the kind of cooperation and assistance we have received from the party under the leadership of Jayalalithaaji has been total," said Advani.

"There has been no reservation of any kind. Jayalalithaaji, AIADMK, have been functioning as natural allies of my party," he added.

Advani also spoke in praise of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who was also present on the occasion.

"We know of every family in which very often the younger shows greater talent than the elders and the elders, they don't think he has become bigger than the family, he feels proud about it that the younger member of the family is able to (equip) himself in a manner as to make ordinary people think that even his father or elder brother he did not have such talent," he said, while dispelling all media rumours of a tiff between him and Modi.

Meanwhile, Narendra Modi hit out at the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre, and said that it was due to the wrong policymakings that the country has been unable to witness the same economic growth as China.

"After independence, Indian policies were not growth oriented, it was status quo governance, it was more focused on consolidation of power and position of political party rather than consolidation and expansion of economy," said Modi.

"The same situation continued for long, it took 40 long years for the ruling party to realise that the policies they were pursuing were not right," he added.

Modi further accused the UPA Government of being the most corrupt government after independence.

"The Congress-led Government at the Centre is at a total loss as to what is happening around the world. Moreover, as Advaniji had put it, it is the most corrupt government after independence," said Modi.

"Corruption has reached a new height in the UPA-led Central Government, all driven by vote bank politics, people have started wondering if at all there is a government at the Centre," he added. (ANI)