Tamil Nadu Parties Slam Jaitley-Jayalalithaa Meeting

Chennai, Jan 19 (IANS) Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu Monday criticised the meeting between Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa.

"Is it proper on the part of a central minister to visit the house of a person convicted by a court for corruption and whose appeal petition is being heard by a court?" DMK president M. Karunanidhi said in a statement issued here.

Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government, Karunanidhi said doubt arises whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also a party to this.

Karunanidhi said Jaitley met Jayalalithaa when the Income Tax department was processing an out-of-court settlement of her 18-year-old case.

The PMK - which is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance - also hit out against the Jaitley-Jayalalithaa meeting.

"The meeting gives rise to suspicion," PMK founder S. Ramadoss said.

Tamil Nadu Congress leader E.V.K.S. Elangovan said the BJP's anti-corruption stance stood exposed now.

Jaitley Sunday called on Jayalalithaa at her residence here Sunday. They met for around 40 minutes.

The AIADMK in a statement said Jaitley went to Jayalalithaa's Poes Garden residence and was received by her warmly.

"It was a courtesy call which lasted 40 minutes," the statement added.

Jayalalithaa lost her assembly seat and the chief minister's post after she was sentenced to a four-year jail term and slapped with a fine of Rs.100 crore in a corruption case.