The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has come down heavily on the BJP and demanded an apology from the party for Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal’s comment on Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa at a meeting in New Delhi on Friday.
“I made several attempts to contact ministers in the Jayalalithaa government. I have access to 28 states in this country but for the 29th state, when I want to talk to someone, I can’t. I call up and talk to the power minister and he says he will get back to me after he speaks with Amma,” Goyal had said according to a report in Hindustan Times.
Tamil Nadu government rubbished the allegations as baseless with the state’s finance minister O Panneerselvam saying, “The statement by Goyal that he could not meet the honourable Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi (revolutionary leader) is a preposterous accusation. It is an unsubstantiated allegation made with a political purpose.”
Panneerselvam cited numerous meetings that Jaylalithaa has held with eight union ministers from the present government since it took office in 2014.
The minister said Jayalalithaa has always been accessible for discussions regarding the development of Tamil Nadu and alleged that Goyal made the comment for political gains ahead of the elections.
“We will make this an election issue in the campaign,” said a senior BJP leader.
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