Ahead of poll result, M Karunanidhi hauls Jaya to court

CHENNAI: Just over a fortnight before the assembly polls being announced in Tamil Nadu, political punches continue to be thrown in the state, with chief minister M Karunanidhi hauling AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa to court on two counts.

Karunanidhi has filed two defamation petitions against Jayalalithaa in the principal sessions court here, upset by her comments about him in recent days.

In one of the petitions, Jayalalithaa is accused of making a statement that gives the impression that the chief minister directed the state chief secretary to cut the payment of Rs 300 that is given to ex-servicemen who were deployed on election duty.

The second complaint pertains to an allegation that the DMK planned to unleash violence on polling day, with the connivance of police officials.

City public prosecutor M Shahjahan told ET that the court had issued summons to Jayalalithaa, with the matter being posted to June 21.

This is not the first instance of the DMK chief filing defamation case against Jayalalithaa. Shahjahan said two other cases filed by Karunanidhi against the AIADMK chief were under judicial process.

During the campaign period, the AIADMK had also filed a complaint with the Election Commission against Karunanidhi’s son and deputy chief minister MK Stalin for allegedly making personal attacks on Jayalalithaa. The EC issued a notice to Stalin following the AIADMK complaint that his remarks were “malicious and beyond limits of decency”.

Karunanidhi also petitioned the principal sessions court about Ulaga Tamizhar Peramaippu president P Nedumaran, stating that the latter had issued a statement giving the impression that the chief minister was indulging in malpractice between the polling date and the announcement of results.

While the two coalitions in Tamil Nadu led by the DMK and the AIADMK await the results on May 13, party insiders from both fronts are bullish about getting the winning number of seats in the 234-member state assembly.