CHENNAI: Taking exception to the allegation of AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa that Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin and Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi owned distilleries and that the TASMAC had placed huge orders for them, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Saturday dared the leader of Opposition to prove her charges.
Writing for DMK organ Murasoli, Karunanidhi said Jayalalithaa should give details about the location of the distilleries owned by Stalin and Kanimozhi and the information about the orders placed by the State government for procuring Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) from them for sale in TASMAC.
He said Jayalalithaa had forced him to give details of the Midas Distillery, set up during her regime.
Till 2001, there were only five distilleries in the State. But when the AIADMK came to power in 2001, permission was granted to set up Golden Distilleries, which later changed its name as Midas, to produce liquor, he added.
Giving a detailed account of how the previous AIADMK regime had helped the growth of Midas from time to time, Karunanidhi alleged that it took over the sale of IMFL from private parties only to procure liquor in larger quantities from the Midas.
"If the sale of Midas rose from 4.68 per cent to 22.49 per cent in a couple of years, one could understand the interest shown by Jayalalithaa in the distillery," he said.