PM lavishes praise on Jaya

KANNIYAKUMARI, TAMIL NADU, Feb 2 (UNI) The bonhomie between the BJP and the AIADMK, which have renewed their ties after a gap of nearly five years, was evident today with prime minister A B Vajpayee praising the achievements of Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

"We value our partnership with Jayalalithaa and under her leadership, Tamil Nadu has made impressive strides under social and economic sectors," the prime minister said participating in the "bhoomi pooja" (ground breaking) function for the Kanniyakumari-Madurai stretch of the NH-7 here under the North-South corridor.

The Tamil Nadu chief minister and the prime minister shared the dais after a long gap at the function.

Only yesterday, Jayalalithaa had hosted a dinner to deputy prime minister L K Advani, who was in Chennai.

Vajpayee said that new road development project would accelerate the growth in Tamil Nadu.

In her presidential address, Jayalalithaa thanked the prime minister for coming to Kanniyakumari for the function.

She expressed her appreciation over various developoment projects taken up by the centre.

She requested Vajpayee to take steps to develop 1,900 KM of National Highways in the state under the prime minister's National Highway Development Project.

A detailed project report had been submitted to the National Highway Authority of India, she added.