TN govt to initiate legal action against Jaya

Chennai, Oct 14: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said his government would initiate legal action against AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa and other party leaders ''for instigating violence'' during the first phase of civic poll yesterday in the city.

Talking to newspersons at the party headquarters ''Anna Arivalayam'' here, he said the government would file a criminal case against Ms Jayalalithaa for instigating violence by stating that the DMK leaders would be eliminated like the demon ''Naragasura'' in Hindu mythology.

Legal action would also be initiated against AIADMK leaders who had instigated violence during the civic poll yesterday in the city, he said and rieterated his charge that yesterday's violence was let lose by the AIADMK men.

The DMK had already presented a memorandum to the State Election Commission, demanding that a case be registered against Ms Jayalalithaa for instigating violence. The Government had intelligence reports that there was a plot to unleash violence and it became true, he said.

Mr Karunanidhi said the AIADMK wanted a repeat of 2001, when violence marred the Mayoral election during its regime, but yesterday's violence was not as bad as 2001 violence.

Answering a question, Mr Karunanidhi said he would not say there were no untoward incidents during the first phase of the poll. That was why the State Election Commission has ordered repoll in 60 booths in the state, including 17 in the city. In 2001, the polling per centage in the city was only 37 per cent. But now it was 53 per cent, he said and asked the journalists to compare the figures themselves.

Displaying photographs of the injured DMK men in yesterday's violent incidents, he said an eye of a partyman in Velachery was gorged out in a brutal attack and he had to undergo an emergency surgery. The DMK President also read out a list of names of the injured DMK workers.

He said Mr Ambikapathy, a MDMK candidate today quit the party and joined the DMK, saying that the AIADMK was behind the violence and the MDMK was party to it. An AIADMK candidate Shyamala, quit the party and joined the DMK, protesting against the party's involvement in the violence, Mr Karunanidhi said.

On its own ally, the CPI(M) charging the DMK with booth capturing and rigging, Mr Karunanidhi, parrying the question, said in some places the DMK could not arrive at seat sharing agreements with the Left parties, leading to problems. ''Everything will become alright,'' he hoped.

UNI

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