Paving the way for a new political culture between the two Dravidian parties, AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday thanked DMK leader M K Stalin for attending her swearing-in ceremony on Monday.
Putting an end to the controversy over the seating arrangements to Stalin during the function, Jayalalithaa said she never intended to insult him or his party over the seats allocation.
Jayalalithaa's statement came against the backdrop of DMK president M Karunanidhi's stating that Stalin was insulted at the swearing-in function by seating him among the crowd, instead of allotting a seat in the front row.
The AIADMK said had the officials brought to her notice that Stalin would be attending the event, she would have instructed the officer in-charge of the arrangements to provide him a seat in the first row, relaxing the norms in the Protocol Manual.
“I understand that Stalin was seated in the block of seats intended for MLAs” Jayalalithaa said, adding, “If this seating plan caused him any discomfiture, I would like to assure him that there was no intent to show disrespect to him or his party”. Conveying him good wishes, Jayalalithaa said she looked forward to working with the DMK for the betterment of the state.
Published 24 May 2016, 19:48 IST