AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Friday said that she would file a defamation case against Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi for running a malicious campaign that she had encroached on lands of Dalits at Siruthavur.
In a statement here, Ms. Jayalalithaa said though Mr. Karunanidhi knew that she had nothing to do with the land dispute, he indulged in a malicious campaign for four years inside and outside the Assembly, “because he wanted to take revenge and bring bad name to me, the former Chief Minister and general secretary of the political party which enjoys the support of the people.”
Ms. Jayalalithaa said the Chief Minister would have got the details about the buyers of the lands in Siruthavur from officials of Revenue and Registration departments. “He also would have known that my name is not in the list of buyers. Still he constituted an inquiry commission on July, 27, 2006, out of political vendetta. The commission sent notice to the owners of land and not to me. This clearly shows I have nothing to do with the land deal,” she said.
Recalling Mr. Karunanidhi's speech at a function organised by the Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi (VCK) recently, making the same allegation against her, Ms. Jayalalithaa said it was illegal because the commission report giving a clean chit to her had already been submitted to the government. “Without placing the report in the Assembly, Mr. Karunanidhi uttered a blatant lie. It is an unforgivable, illegal and mean act,” she said.
Earlier, the issue echoed in the Assembly when AIADMK members led by their deputy leader O. Panneerselvam and whip K.A. Sengottaiyan alleged that the Chief Minister dragged Ms. Jayalalithaa's name into the deal with a view to running a malicious campaign against her.
Mr. Karunanidhi said; “We want to pursue the issue patiently. We can discuss the issue in the House.”
