CHENNAI:The principal opposition party, DMK, has slammed Minister Kadambur Raju’s remarks on allocation of land at the Marina Beach for burial of former Chief Minister and former DMK president M Karunanidhi.
Addressing a public meeting held to mark the birth anniversary of the late Dravidian icon, C N Annadurai, at Kovilpatti on Monday, Kadambur Raju claimed that the ruling AIADMK government had acted benevolently over the issue of allocating land for Karunanidhi.
“Allocation of land at the Marina Beach for burial of Karunanidhi is the AIADMK’s alms to the DMK,” commented Raju.Stating that the late DMK patriarch would have got the space on the Marina for burial, had he been power, the Minister said the government had not appealed against the High Court order. “We accorded him state honours. It’s our (AIADMK) alms to the DMK, which enabled them to bury Karunanidhi at the Marina,” added Raju.
DMK treasurer Durai Murugan has condemned the minister’s remarks and categorically rejected Raju’s claim that the ruling party had favoured DMK.
“Despite our repeated demands, the government refused to allot the land. We secured the burial site for our leader only through the High Court order. His comment against the late leader is petty, cheap and is in bad taste,” said Murugan.
He said. “The ruling government had not done any favour to us. In fact, they gave us lot of trouble over this issue. “Raju does not deserve the post of minister, having won the election, only with the margin of 390 votes,” he added.