Chennai: Training his guns at both AIADMK and DMK, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday repeated his charge that the Jayalalithaa-led party was the `B-Team` of BJP and expressed doubts if DMK was preparing to become the `C-Team`.
Addressing an election rally here in support of his party nominees for Central Chennai and South Chennai Lok Sabha constituencies, the senior Congress leader said the two Dravidian parties were treating the April 24 Lok Sabha polls as only a `rehearsal` for the 2016 Assembly elections.
"Why are both parties so aggressively campaigning? It is a rehearsal before staging a play. It is for 2016," he said.
Criticising BJP for making no promises on reservation in its 42-page poll manifesto, Chidambaram said not even once was the word mentioned in it.
"Are you going to vote for them or their B-Team AIADMK? Voting for the A team or B Team is the same. My suspicion is if DMK is preparing to become the C-Team," he said amidst peels of laughter.
While Karunanidhi was speaking against BJP`s efforts to win seats in Tamil Nadu, its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was actually trying to `enter Delhi,` and not this state, Chidambaram said.
"DMK cannot stop him at Delhi; only Congress can do. Whether voting for DMK, AIADMK or directly for BJP means a burial for reservation policy in the BJP-led government," he said recalling that his party had reiterated its commitment for the quota system.
Jayalalithaa sparing BJP of any criticism and its state unit leaders toeing a similar line showed that "the cat is out of the bag", Chidambaram said.
He said he was not underestimating DMK and AIADMK but added their influence was confined to Tamil Nadu alone although they had been part of different central governments.
He particularly took a dig at AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa when he recalled her withdrawal of support to the Vajpayee Government thus giving the BJP veteran "sleepless nights".
Questioning her on the power front, he asked if she had implemented her 2011 poll promise of addressing power shortage and also on making the state a power surplus one.
Chidamabram blamed the government for the power woes,
saying either power was generated or not and pooh-poohed Jayalalithaa`s charge of a "conspiracy" behind the power shortage by someone wantonly creating technical snags.
Further, most of the poll promises including employment generation were still unfulfilled, he added.
Joining issue with her on her charge that Centre had not allotted adequate funds to the state, the Finance Minister said if she makes such an accusation, it would also affect President Pranab Mukherjee as he had handled the portfolio for some years.
Between 2008-09 and 2012-13, the Centre had given nearly one lakh crore to the state government under different heads like Grant, tax share and debts, and while it was Rs 15,646 crore in 2008-09 it had increased to Rs 23,392 crore in 2012-13.
The allocation was being made under laid down rules of Finance Commission and other institutions, he reasoned.
Slamming BJP on its poll promises of a building Ram temple at Ayodhya and implementing the Uniform Civil Code, he expressed fears that their implementation could result in communal riots, leading to more terror.
Congress alone had the capability to deliver a stable government and most governments headed by non-Congress Prime Ministers including IK Gujral and Deve Gowda were short-lived, he pointed out.
