BJP downplays MDMK's exit from NDA

Reacting to MDMK's exit from the NDA, BJP Tamil Nadu president T Soundararajan today said it was expected, while senior BJP leader and Minister of State Pon Radhakrishnan said it could have been avoided.
Tamizhisai Sounderrajan said Vaiko's exit was expected but sought to counter his criticism of her party-led NDA in areas like the fishermen issue.
"Brother Vaiko has walked out of NDA, it was expected. That is why he was criticising us whenever we did something good. We also condemned but remained patient in the interest of the alliance," she said in a statement.
Referring to the death sentence awarded to the five Indian fishermen by a Lankan court for alleged drug trafficking, she said they were released only because of Modi's efforts, indicating that he had taken up the matter with Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Modi had ensured the release of five Indian fishermen from gallows in Sri Lanka, "which is not an easy job", she said.
On Vaiko's criticism about the NDA's efforts to promote Hindi and Sanskrit, she said it was the same government which was also promoting Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar "taking him to north Indian students," in an apparent reference to the Union HRD Ministry's decision in this regard even as another Tamil poet, Subramania Bharathy was also being given importance by Central government, she said.
Pon Radhakrishnan, Minister of State for Highways and Shipping said in a statement, "It is unfortunate that brother Vaiko has continuously found faults at the functioning of the government of India, criticised it and has now come to the level of quitting the alliance."

"Political alliances are forged on the promise that parties would support each other for five years. Alliance parties have the right to debate and find solution, if they have a problem at the end of five years... I am not happy that MDMK has come to this step of breaking alliance instead of talking it out," he said.