All India Anna DMK general secretary J Jayalalitha on Saturday ruled out the newly formed third front supporting Congress candidate Prathiba Patil for the presidency.

Talking to reporters at the party headquarters here, Jayalalitha said senior BJP leader A B Vajpayee and National Democratic Alliance candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had both contacted her and sought her front’s support.

Jayalalitha said the front would decide at its June 18 meeting here whether to support Shekhawat, put up its own candidate, or abstain from voting.

The front, formed at the recent meeting in Hyderabad, consists of Jayalalitha (AIADMK), Mulayam Singh Yadav, Amar Singh and Mr S Bangarappa (Samajwadi Party), N Chandrababu Naidu (Telugu Desam), Brindavan Goswamy (Asom Gana Parishad), Babulal Marandi (Jharkhand Vikas Morcha) P C Thomas (Kerala Congress-J) and Vaiko (MDMK).

Jayalalitha said the leaders would meet at her residence. Answering questions, Jayalalitha described as “bad in law” the recent Madras High Court order directing the Election Commission to take action against her for filing nominations from four constituencies (in contravention of election laws) in the 2001 Assembly elections. She said she would go in appeal to the Supreme Court.

‘Baseless reports’

Jayalalitha also described as baseless media reports and official allegations that the bungalow under construction in the Kodanadu estate in the Nilgiris would have 90 rooms and it would have a swimming pool, sauna bath facility and that and over 200 trees were being felled to make way for the building.

She said she was ready to organise a press tour of the estate.
The AIADMK has challenged in the high court the notice served on the estate management by the Kothagiri local authorities about violation of rules and norms in the construction.

Asked about speculation that DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan was being tipped for vice-presidency, Jayalalitha  said tongue-in-cheek: “That’s a funny question. What I heard was that Mr Karunanidhi (Chief Minister) wants to hand over power to his son Stalin and opt for vice-presidency.”

Replying to another question, she said if Karunanidhi’s daughter and DMK’s newly elected Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi was made a Union Minister, it would be a greater mockery than the induction of Dayanidhi Maran into the Ministry after his maiden victory in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

Eye wash

Jayalalitha dismissed as eyewash the CBI enquiry ordered into the May 9 attack on the Dinakaran newspaper office in Madurai by supporters of Karunanidhi’s son M K Azhagiri in which three employees were killed.

She said the case had been handed over to the CBI to protect Azhagiri (whose supporters raided the office after a survey published by the paper on Karunanidhi’s political heir showed him in poor light).

She said the CBI enquiry would go the way of the Quattrocchi affair.