Jaya slams Pope; rules out pre-poll alliance

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa today reacted strongly to Pope John Paul II’s reported remarks on anti-conversion laws and sa...

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa today reacted strongly to Pope John Paul II’s reported remarks on anti-conversion laws and said he had ‘‘no business’’ to talk about the legislations passed by democratically elected governments in India.

Refusing to accept that as the head of a religious order, the Pope could comment on such issues, she said: ‘‘He has no such authority,’’ and noted that the law enacted by her government was only aimed at preventing forced conversions.

She also ruled out the possibility of AIADMK’s alliance with the Congress so long as it projects Sonia Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate. A foreigner as the Prime Minister of this country is a proposition totally unacceptable to the AIADMK, she declared.

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Pressed whether she would campaign against Sonia in the Lok Sabha polls as she had promised to earlier, she only said: ‘‘If the time comes, I will…’’

However, she continued to maintain that she was not leaning towards the BJP and said that her party was maintaining equidistance from both BJP and the Congress.

She also claimed that the emergence of a third front at the national level was a possibility and hoped it would take place after the forthcoming elections to the Assemblies in four states.

Asked whether ideologically the AIADMK and the BJP are not on the same plane, she said: ‘‘There is not much of a difference between the DMK and the AIADMK. But do you think that the two parties can ever come together?’’ she asked.

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Reacting to TNCC working president E.V.K.S. Elangovan, who had questioned the propriety of Finance Minister Jaswant Singh calling on her when an economic offence case was pending against her, she said there was no case relating to her pending with the Finance ministry.

Jayalalithaa also said she was thinking of filing a defamation case against DMK president M. Karunanidhi for insinuating that she had links with auditor Krishnamoorthy who was arrested in connection with the IT officials’ transfer case.