These are not good times for DMK chief M Karunanidhi and his attempt to portray himself as the champion of the Dravidian cause has been met with serious challenge from Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. To make matters worse, there is an evident dissension in the party. The latest incident that made him bite the dust was when he tried to create a controversy on the maintenance of the Thiruvalluvar statue in the sea off the Kanyakumari coast.
Lashing out at Karunanidhi for making false allegations Jayalalithaa said she was more concerned about the statue of Thiruvalluvar than Karunanidhi. She said, Karunanidhi, who had removed Thirukural from public transport corporation buses and put his axioms in the vehicles, was making a false statement.
“I would like to tell one thing clearly to Karunanidhi, it is the AIADMK government which has announced an award in the name of Thiruvalluvar, passed a resolution in the State Assembly to declare Thirukural as national literature and opened a university in the name of Thiruvalluvar,” said Jayalalithaa.
The chief minister didn’t stop at that and refreshed the public memory on how Karunanidhi has always acted against the avowed principles of late leader C N Annadurai. Tracing the history of the AIADMK, she said MGR played a key role in the DMK coming to power in Tamil Nadu in 1967. “After the demise of Anna in 1969, everyone thought senior-most party leader V R Nedunchezhiyan would become the next chief minister. However, Karunanidhi approached Rajaji for help to become the chief minister. But Rajaji advised him to seek the help of MGR to realise his dreams. Karunanidhi promptly met MGR and sought his help. Because of his magnanimity, MGR recommended the name of Karunanidhi for the chief minister’s post. Karunanidhi became the Chief Minister for the second-term in 1971 only because of the support extended by MGR,” Jaya said.
“After 1971, selfish motives ruled the roost in the DMK and the party became an asset of Karunanidhi’s family. Keeping the interests of the people, MGR advised Karunanidhi to mend his ways. However, a thankless Karunanidhi expelled MGR from the DMK. To safeguard the interests of the people of Tamil Nadu, MGR launched his own party in 1972 and the AIADMK came to power in 1977,” Jaya added.
Citing current example, Jaya said that though the DMK is a partner in the UPA government, Karunanidhi never voiced for the fair rights of Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, Jaya has upped the ante against the DMK to a national dimension by announcing a state-wide protest in front of central government offices on January 24 against the “dictatorial alliance which is led by the Congress and includes DMK.”