DMK manifesto a bundle of lies, says Jayalalithaa

Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu), March 15 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa Saturday came down heavily on rival DMK's manifesto, terming it a bundle of lies.

The AIADMK chief also urged the people to oust the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre as people suffered under it.

Addressing an election rally in the town, around 600 km from Chennai, Jayalalithaa said the DMK's election manifesto released recently is a bundle of lies and a catalogue of issues on which the party has not taken any action.

She also said the DMK is trying to fool the people with its promise of increasing the individual income tax limit to Rs.600,000, noting it was in power for the past 17 years and it could have done that during that time.

Jayalalithaa termed as "fraud" the DMK's promise to get income tax exemption for gratuity and provident fund amount received by an employee on their retirement.

"These two are already exempt from income tax. Promising to fight for exemption for already exempted item is a big fraud by DMK," she said.

On DMK's promise to rescind foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail, she said that opposing it now after voting for it in parliament is a fraud.

Attacking the UPA, she said that during its 10-year-long, "one can list various sufferings underwent by people like price rise, decrease in exports, increase in imports, rise in oil prices, threats from neighbouring nations, Sri Lankan Navy's attack on Indian fishermen".

She said the "Himalayan" 2G spectrum allocation scam that shamed the nation was carried out by UPA government of which DMK was part for nine years and thus the UPA have to be defeated in the general elections.

Stressing that her AIADMK government has taken several welfare measures for minorities, Jayalalithaa strongly refuted DMK's charge that she had sent people to participate in 'Kar Seva' in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya years ago.