Advised party against AIADMK tie-up: Swamy

The party high command did not heed his advice and has not invited him in the poll campaigns, he told reporters at Madurai airport. The alliance with AIADMK was only to divert votes bound for “corrupt” DMK in favour of the BJP-led front, he said.

Swamy said the BJP-led front would achieve a massive victory in the elections and that the election campaigns would continue as per schedule.

On Congress’s promise of providing minimum income guarantee of Rs 72,000 per year to the poorest, he wondered whether Congress president Rahul Gandhi would get this amount from foreign banks. Citing it was wrong on the part of the Election Commission to refuse to give the AMMK the symbol it had sought, he said the party will anyway get the symbol of its choice in future.

On the alleged EVM tampering claims, Swamy said it was not possible since now, the voters will be able to verify whom they voted for. Further, he took the credit for bringing up such irregularities in EVMs in the wake of 2004 general elections.

Moreover, he said when the Centre had decided to name Madurai airport after freedom fighter Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar, Deputy CM O Panneerselvam, who was formerly the CM, and former Union Minister P Chidambaram had objected the move. However, he said that now, the BJP-led central government would name the airport after the freedom fighter.