DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi has dismissed the criticism levelled against his party and the AIADMK by NDA Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday, saying Modi’s comments would not go down well with the people of Tamil Nadu. The octogenarian also refused to comment on Modi’s meeting with actor Rajinikanth.
“He (Modi) has started his campaign in Tamil Nadu. He has uttered some wonderful lines. They will be enough to earn him the displeasure of the people of Tamil Nadu,” said Karunanidhi, when asked for a response to Modi’s assertion that the DMK and AIADMK did not care about the people and instead devoted their energy to destroying each other.
The barbs being exchanged by the DMK and AIADMK with the BJP come in light of the question raised by the Congress and Left over whether they are going easy on the BJP in search of a post-poll understanding.
Karunanidhi also refused to comment on Modi’s meeting with Rajinikanth. The cine superstar has in the past expressed support for the DMK and is credited for a part in the landslide verdict in the DMK’s favour in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections of 1996. Rajinikanth has since also become more selective on making his support public, and has staved off feelers from the DMK in the recent past.
Focus on City
DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi’s final leg of campaigning is set to hinge around Chennai. In the final days of campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections, the octogenarian is scheduled to address seven public meetings across five days, in seven constituencies.
Karunanidhi will finish off his campaign with a public meeting in the Central Chennai constituency, where his grand-nephew Dayanidhi Maran is contesting on the DMK ticket. Beginning April 16, Karunanidhi will address public meetings in Vellore and the six constituencies in and around Chennai.
He is set to speak in Sriperumbudur and Vellore on April 16, Kancheepuram on April 17, South Chennai on April 19, Tiruvallur and North Chennai on April 20 and Central Chennai on April 21. Of these seven constituencies, the DMK is contesting five, with the Vellore going to the IUML and Tiruvallur (SC) going to the VCK.