Vaiko requests EC to disqualify Karunanidhi

Chennai, Apr 29 (UNI) MDMK General Secretary Vaiko has requested the Election Commission to disqualify DMK President M Karunanidhi from contesting in the May eight Assembly election for allegedly promoting enmity and hatred between two communities.

In a letter to the poll panel, a copy of which was made available to the media here, he also urged it to initiate appropriate legal proceedings against Mr Karunanidhi under the Representation of People Act.

During an election campaign at Usilampatti on April 22, the DMK chief, heading the Democratic Progressive Alliance(DPA) in the state, made a remark in Tamil 'Siruthaikal ulaavalam. Singangal nadamada koodatha?' (When panthers can roam, why not the lions?).

In Tamil Nadu, 'Dalit Panthers of India' was a registered political party which was functioning with the object of uplifting the social status and for the welfare of Dalits, he said.

Mr Vaiko said the term 'panthers' popularly meant Dalits in Tamil Nadu. The 'Lion' was the exclusive symbol allotted to the All India Forward Bloc, which was a recognised state party in West Bengal. But in Tamil Nadu, the AIFB was dominated by Thevar community and was popularly known as a party consisting of people belonging to that community.

The MDMK leader charged Mr Karunanidhi with promoting communal feelings to woo the electorate belonging to Thevar community. ''He indulged in an activity to instigate hatred between the Dalits and Thevar community in the southern parts of Tamil Nadu,'' he alleged.

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