Jayalalitha holds mega rally in DMK bastion

Image: J Jayalalitha on the dais at the AIADMK rally in Madurai
Photographs: Pandiaraj Krishnakumar P

Following up on her successful rally in Trichy in the run-up to the 2011 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president J Jayalaithaa on Monday staged a mammoth rally in Madurai.

In her almost 90-minute speech, she targeted Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, M K Alagiri, who is Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's son.

'Stalin needs visa to enter Madurai'

Image: Huge crowds gathered to see AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha in Madurai
Photographs: Pandiaraj

Taking a dig at Madurai becoming lawless and blaming Alagiri for it, she said the city has become so much of an Alagiri fiefdom that his younger brother and Tamil Nadu deputy CM M K Stalin probably needed a visa to enter the city.

Referring to the alleged death threats, she has been receiving ever since her recent successful rally in Trichy, she said she if anyone wanted to kill her, she would gladly die in front of her party men at the rally.

A DMK minister's car was stoned near the rally

Image: AIADMK leader J Jayalalitha gestures to the crowd
Photographs: Pandiaraj

Union minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Napoleon's car was attacked by the AIADMK activists in Madurai on Monday afternoon. Stones were thrown at the minister's car, but he suffered no injuries. The incident took place near the spot whereAIADMK leader Jayalalitha was holding her rally.

The AIADMK faithful turned up in thousands

Image: An AIADMK supporter hold up a bottle in a dig at MK Alagiri
Photographs: Pandiaraj

The lady holding up the Horlicks bottle at the rally had an interesting tale to tell. Referring to reports that 9,000 bottles of Horlicks, brought from Haryana to a godown near Sholavandan in Madurai district, went missing on July 12, she said the lorry owner had to move the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court after the police refused to register a complaint.

Alleging that Alagiri had doled out bottles of the beverage to about 8,700 people at Andipatti on July 18 as part of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's birthday celebrations, Jayalalithaa said there was a suspicion among the public whether there was a link to the bottles that disappeared.

Jayalalitha also demanded that the state government recommend a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the incident as the Union minister was suspected to be "linked to the theft."

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