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Mani Shankar Aiyar 'snaps ties with Kesri'

Former Lok Sabha member Mani Shankar Aiyar today 'disassociated' himself from the Congress, saying that party president Sitaram Kesri could not be forgiven for having driven secular Tamil Nadu into the Bharatiya Janata Party's evil hands.

He was referring to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham-BJP alliance announced yesterday.

Aiyar met Sonia Gandhi and told her about his decision.

''In view of my long association with the late Rajiv Gandhi and his family, I felt I owed it to Sonia Gandhi to first inform her of my decision,'' he said.

''I am a socialist and a secularist, as required by the Constitution of India. The Congress under Kesri has done little to promote either of these objectives. The only point of being in public life in this country is to advance these two great causes.

''I have decided to dissociate from the Congress because Kesri did not listen to my humble advice for the past many days.

''Kesri has been procrastinating for the past many weeks on the Congress-AIADMK electoral alliance for reasons best known to him,'' he told Rediff On The NeT.

''However, I am not quitting the Congress. I am still a primary member of the party. I would like to know what Kesri's reaction will be.

''I will contest from my constituency in Tamil Nadu and I will announce my further action plan on December 29.''

George Iype, UNI

EARLIER REPORT:
BJP ties up with AIADMK

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