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PC reacts to dhoti-clad PM remark: I'm not foolish
December 31, 2012
Finance minister P Chidambaram reacts to DMK chief M Karunanidhi's statement of the need for a dhoti-clad prime minister. Chidambaram said, "I know my limitation and I stay within those limitations. That's my serious answer [to what Karunanidhi said] and on a lighter note, I know some of you think I am foolish, but I am not so foolish."
Lavishing praise on Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, DMK chief M
Karunanidhi at a function in Chennai a few days ago, said he was among the few who had a place in his heart
as the senior Congress leader was virtually projected by some speakers
at a function as a potential Prime Ministerial candidate.
The DMK
patriarch himself made a reference in his speech to the loud applauses
and cheers from the audience whenever speakers expressed their wish to
see a ''dhoti-clad'' Tamilian occupying the Prime Minister''s post, an
apparent reference to Chidambaram.
Calling Chidambaram one of the
few who had a "place in my heart," Karunanidhi traced his political
career starting as a Minister of State in the early 1980s till his
present position. "What next? You (the audience) have expressed your
aspirations through your applause and cheers.
Some speakers spoke about
a dhoti-clad Tamilian becoming Prime Minister. So, that also answers
the question regarding a saree-wearing Tamil becoming Prime Minister,"
he said in an apparent reference to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa
who has
also set her eyes on a bigger role at the national level.
Chidambaram sat in the front row among the audience and did not speak at
the function where Karunanidhi released the book titled "Chidambaram:
Oru Paarvai", a compilation of speeches by various personalities about
the Congress leader.
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