Use RTI effectively as safety tool to protect partymen: Karuna

Chennai, Sep 10: In the wake of arrests of his senior colleagues in connection with land grab complaints, DMK president M Karunanidhi today (Sep 10) asked his legal wing members to effectively use RTI as a "safety tool" to protect partymen.

"We should ask questions that will send a shiver among personnel of any department, including police, that come towards us. They should fear their future prospects. Keep that in mind and use Right to Information (to ask queries)," Karunanidhi told his legal wing members here.

He said this fear would act as a "safety tool" that will protect DMK members, who he alleged were facing tough times like during the Emergency. "When you seek Information, they will be apprehensive, thinking why was it sought," he said.

A legal wing member present at the meeting said DMK would seek information on about 100 queries asking details, including officers'' assets, memo received, departmental action, if any that they had faced and some other matters.

"They are legally bound to furnish information. This will be helpful in exposing officers, mainly from police department. We will cover officers from Sub-Inspector to Commissioner."

Recalling the Emergency, he said there was "no need to mention police atrocities on DMK workers". Even popular socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan had praised his party.

"Those were days when it was uncertain if arrested partymen would return alive. Even then none could destroy DMK which only grew stronger. Similar efforts are now on to destroy DMK," he said.

He urged the advocates to assist those arrested (for landgrab) and help them out of the cases.

Party sources also said all legal routes would be utilised in support of jailed leaders, including former Ministers Veerapandi S Arumugam, KN Nehru, K Ponmudi and N K K P Raja, besides MLAs J Anbazhagan and Soundarapandian.

Some aides of Union Minister M K Alagiri are also in jail on landgrab complaints.

PTI