Brahmins caused DMK defeat, says Karuna

[1]

‘DMK has its roots in the self-respect movement; but now it seems that it has lost all its self-respect in the UPA.’

The question, posed by a reporter at the media interaction after the party’s high-level committee meet, described in a nutshell party president M. Karunanidhi poor predicament at this moment — rout in elections, daughter in jail and a belligerent rival in the chief minister’s chair ordering probe into his pet Assembly project.

And when cornered in such situations, the DMK patriarch invariably resorted to what always seemed to him as the easiest escape route — Brahmin bashing.

Did the spectrum scam cause the DMK defeat in the polls, asked a scribe. “It’s not spectrum that defeated the DMK in the elections; it’s due to attempts by some Brahmins,” was the bitter reply.

Mr Karunanidhi repeatedly insisted that the DMK relations with the Congress remained healthy. The problem really was with the CBI, which adopted ‘double standards’ and arrested Kanimozhi when she went to the court responding to summons.

“Legal experts say that the CBI did wrong linking a business transaction (between Kalaignar TV and DB Realty) to spectrum case. The CBI action is condemnable,” said a resolution passed by the DMK high-level committee at the meeting.

The committee meeting, presided over by Mr Karunanidhi, lasted a little over an hour. Though no agenda was mentioned, that it was convened within hours of Kanimozhi’s bail being rejected by the Delhi high court, made its purpose obvious.

The session sprang no surprises as there were indications already that the DMK would growl loud and not dare to bite.

Sources said only Veerapandi Arumugam advocated taking a strong line against the Congress while all the others either kept mum or advised against walking out of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

They said some party seniors argued that it would make matters worse if the party gave up even the
little protection that the UPA membership gave.

“Even at the state-level, we now have the challenge posed by Jayalalithaa announcing judicial probe into the construction of the new Assembly complex.

It may not be prudent to snap away from United Progressive Alliance at this juncture,” said a DMK
senior, speaking on condition of anonymity regarding the committee session.