DMK defends Raja

DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said the party would defend tainted former telecom minister A Raja and remind the people of the ‘scams’ involving AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa.

Sources said Karunanidhi’s move could spell trouble for the Congress-DMK alliance in the state, but the veteran politician had little option because the party could be seen as conceding the corruption charges against Raja. The decision to launch an offensive against the AIADMK chief was also a well-thought-out strategy to divert attention of the electorate before the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

Senior DMK leaders will organise rallies across Tamil Nadu from December 24 to highlight the alleged scams during the Jayalalithaa regime. The DMK, which heads a minority government in the state, hopes to get its act together before the assembly elections.

State law minister Duraimurugan, Union minister S Jegathratchagan and former Union minister T R Baalu will address public meetings on ‘The Truth about Spectrum,’ said N Siva, DMK MP and the party's propaganda secretary.

The rallies will be held in Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli and Cuddalore among others, between December 24 and 30.

Siva hit back at the opposition and the media for “targetting” Raja. “As if he had “swindled a huge amount. This was nothing but an attempt to topple the Karunanidhi-led DMK government which was striving for the welfare of the oppressed.”

He said the allegations against Raja, who has been summoned by CBI for questioning in connection with the 2G spectrum scam, were “lies”.

Earlier on Tuesday, Karunanidhi had asked partymen to remind the people of the scams Jayalalithaa was allegedly involved in. “You should reach out to people with incidents including those that led to the burning of three women students and the case against her (Jayalalithaa) in Bangalore,” the DMK chief had said.

Karunanidhi was referring to the burning of a university bus allegedly by AIADMK workers after Jayalalithaa was convicted in the ‘Pleasant Stay Hotel’ case where three students were killed and the disproportionate assets case against her in Bangalore.

Sources within the DMK said that a section of his family and party leaders had asked him to maintain a distance with Raja and not allow allegations of corruption to mar the party’s governance record. However, Karunanidhi chose to ignore them.

The state Congress leadership is uneasy with the recent developments and has been in touch with the central leaders to discuss whether they should side with the the DMK on the issue or stay put. Congress leaders refused to say anything on the issue.

At the plenary session of the Congress, several speakers said it was important to bring the Kamaraj rule back in Tamil Nadu. They were referring to the days when Kamaraj led the Congress to form a government in the state without allies.

The Congress in Delhi said that the DMK had launched its attack on the AIADMK and not on the Congress, and the alliance will remain intact in the state.