New Delhi:
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa walked out of an important meeting in Delhi today being chaired by the Prime Minister. She alleged that she had been insulted because she had not been allowed to deliver her entire speech. The meeting of the National Development Council - attended by all chief ministers and cabinet ministers - is scheduled to discuss and approve the country's financial agenda for the next five years. (
Read full speech here)
Chief Ministers had been asked to limit their speeches to 10 minutes each. Ms Jayalalithaa's address was considerably longer, and repeatedly attacked Dr Manmohan Singh's government. Here are some highlights:
- States are placed at the whim and mercy of petty bureaucrats in different ministries
- Big brother attitude has come to characterise the Centre
- Centre is caught up in the daily squabbles of its constituents. In merely trying to survive from day to day, it has neither the time not the inclination to pay attention to the problems of this country
- The big brotherly and undemocratic approach of superimposing on elected state governments, the dubious policies , priorities and programmes of a minority ruling coterie in Centre has prevailed
- Every single legitimate request made to Centre is stymied