02-08-2006, 04:13 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Gateway to South opened for BJP: Venkaiah Naidu</b>
Special Correspondent
Says like the Cauvery, BJP too will flow from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu "The Congress party is steadily losing friends"
# He says in the past, the BJP was branded as a north Indian party
# Congress is losing friends, he adds
CHENNAI: The gateway to the South has been opened for the Bharatiya Janata Party with the party coming to power in Karnataka, senior leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Tuesday.
"The Cauvery flows from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu. The BJP too will flow from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu," Mr Naidu told a public meeting at Mudichur, about 30 km from Chennai, to launch the programme of "Makkal Darisanam" (meet the people) to be undertaken by the party vice-president L. Ganesan, in northern parts of the State in the next one month. In the past, the BJP was branded as a "north-Indian" party, he added.
Comeback trail
Asserting that the party was on the comeback trail, Mr. Naidu said that in the last one year, the party had retained power in Jharkhand and formed a government along with the Janata Dal (United) in Bihar. But "the Congress party is losing friends," with several of its allies expressing their dissatisfaction over the functioning of the Government.
The BJP leader reiterated that people of Tamil Nadu were tired of politics of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. So, the BJP wanted to provide an alternative and decided to contest in all the constituencies.
No big deal
Referring to a slew of sops announced by the AIADMK Government, Mr. Ganesan said it was no big deal as the proceeds of taxes collected from the public were sought to be spent for such schemes.
Just as the DMK had demanded in the past that an all-party committee monitor flood-relief works, the BJP wanted such an option for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
Bandaru Dattatreya, BJP national secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu, said that one of the objectives of the `Makkal Darisanam' programme was to expose misrepresentation of the Dravidian culture by the DMK and the AIADMK.
"Not alien culture"
"The Dravidian culture is not alien culture. It is part of Indian culture," Mr. Dattatreya said.
J. Ramachandran and V. Vaidyalingam, vice-presidents of the State unit, and V.R. Sivaraman, chief of north Kancheepuram unit of the party, took part in the meeting.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Special Correspondent
Says like the Cauvery, BJP too will flow from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu "The Congress party is steadily losing friends"
# He says in the past, the BJP was branded as a north Indian party
# Congress is losing friends, he adds
CHENNAI: The gateway to the South has been opened for the Bharatiya Janata Party with the party coming to power in Karnataka, senior leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Tuesday.
"The Cauvery flows from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu. The BJP too will flow from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu," Mr Naidu told a public meeting at Mudichur, about 30 km from Chennai, to launch the programme of "Makkal Darisanam" (meet the people) to be undertaken by the party vice-president L. Ganesan, in northern parts of the State in the next one month. In the past, the BJP was branded as a "north-Indian" party, he added.
Comeback trail
Asserting that the party was on the comeback trail, Mr. Naidu said that in the last one year, the party had retained power in Jharkhand and formed a government along with the Janata Dal (United) in Bihar. But "the Congress party is losing friends," with several of its allies expressing their dissatisfaction over the functioning of the Government.
The BJP leader reiterated that people of Tamil Nadu were tired of politics of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. So, the BJP wanted to provide an alternative and decided to contest in all the constituencies.
No big deal
Referring to a slew of sops announced by the AIADMK Government, Mr. Ganesan said it was no big deal as the proceeds of taxes collected from the public were sought to be spent for such schemes.
Just as the DMK had demanded in the past that an all-party committee monitor flood-relief works, the BJP wanted such an option for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
Bandaru Dattatreya, BJP national secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu, said that one of the objectives of the `Makkal Darisanam' programme was to expose misrepresentation of the Dravidian culture by the DMK and the AIADMK.
"Not alien culture"
"The Dravidian culture is not alien culture. It is part of Indian culture," Mr. Dattatreya said.
J. Ramachandran and V. Vaidyalingam, vice-presidents of the State unit, and V.R. Sivaraman, chief of north Kancheepuram unit of the party, took part in the meeting.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->