DMK slams Katju for 'baseless' allegations

'Vested interests' were the reason behind such allegations, they said

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Tuesday slammed former Supreme Court Judge Markandey Katju for his “wild and baseless” allegation that the  “Tamil Nadu partner” of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) lobbied for a corrupt judge.

“We wanted to ignore his wild and baseless allegations. He neither named the party nor the judge,” DMK spokesperson T K S Elangovan said here.

“Vested interests” were the reason behind such allegations, he said.

The matter was taken up with party chief M Karunanidhi as it was raked up in Parliament, he said.

“Our leader (Karunanidhi) has held consultations within the party (on the matter). He will decide what needs to be done... An appropriate move will be made by him,” Elangovan said.

Katju has alleged that three Chief Justices of India (CJIs) made “improper compromises” during UPA rule in retaining a judge in Tamil Nadu under corruption cloud.

Meanwhile, asking six questions,  Katju fired a fresh salvo at former CJI R C Lahoti. The raging controversy over Katju’s allegation also led Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to tell Parliament there was an imperative need to improve the system of appointment of judges and the government was “quite keen” to appoint a National Judicial Commission for this purpose. AIADMK members protested in Parliament for a second straight day and demanded the DMK minister who the move to retain the judge during the UPA rule be named.

The Bharatiya Janata Party wanted answers from former prime minister Manmohan Singh. “Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress should come forward and answer the allegations of how different constitutional bodies, including the Judiciary, were misused for political reasons. It is unfortunate and a matter of serious concern,” BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.