AIADMK puts up brave front on founding day; blasts DMK on corruption

Chennai, Oct. 17 (PTI): Beset by graft cases filed by DMK against its senior leaders, including the Chief Minister K Palniswami, AIADMK celebrated its 47th foundation day by launching a spirited counter attack on its arch rival,calling its chief M K Stalin “the embodiment of corruption.” At the main event at the AIADMK headquarters here, Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam hoisted the party flag and garlanded statues of its founder M G Ramachandran and his successor J Jayalalithaa. Fisheries minister D Jayakumar launched a no holds barred attack on DMK, raking up the Sarkaria Commission report that led to the dismissal of the DMK government in 1976. He was responding to reporters’ queries on DMK’s charges of corruption in award of road contracts by Palaniswami, over which the Madras High Court has ordered a CBI probe. The DMK had moved the court against Palaniswami and a few of his ministerial colleagues, alleging corruption. For the last two years, the founding day celebrations have been a low key affair after the untimely demise of AIADMK’s charismatic leader Jayalalithaa in December 2016. The post Jayalalithaa era has seen a churning in AIADMK, with ouster of the Sasikala family from the party by Palaniswami and Paneereselvam led groups after their merger. Ousted leader T T V Dhinakaran,nephew of V K Sasikala,who has floated his outfit AMMK and has been a thorn in the flesh of the Dravidian party, has said he would retrieve the party. Sasikala, serving a four year term in a Bengaluru jail in a disproportionate assets case,had recently moved the Election Commission, praying for an election for the post of general secretary, from which she was removed, by appointing an observer. Targeting DMK, Jayakumar also alleged that its government was the only one to have been dismissed on corruption charges. “Is there anything more shameful than this?... Stalin is the embodiment of corruption,” he charged. Jayakumar expressed confidence that AIADMK would survive the next 100 years and said the ongoing celebrations are a befitting reply to its adversaries, who expected that the party would fold up after the demise of Jayalalithaa. “We will continue to survive for the next 100 years, will celebrate the golden jubilee in the next three years and diamond jubilee after 25 years,” he said. Referring to Dhinakaran’s claims that he would “retrieve” AIADMK, the minister said the AMMK leader would not stand a chance of retaining his RK Nagar seat if there was a re-election. On the day, seven AIADMK workers who lost their lives during party related works in the state were each given Rs two lakh, those injured were given Rs 50,000 each and a mobile application for blood donation was launched.