Taking on AIADMK treasurer and Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam who had dared him to attend the coming Assembly session, DMK president M. Karunanidhi said on Thursday that he would very much come to the House if he was assured of a “proper seat” in the Assembly chamber.
In a sharp retort, he said: “If you have the will, the government should ensure proper seating arrangement for me in the House and then sent me a message to that effect.” The wheelchair-bound DMK leader, elected from Tiruvarur in the 2011 elections, has been allotted a seat in the second row. He has since been skipping the sessions, though he occasionally signs the register.
In a statement here, Mr. Karunanidhi said he had twice explained why he was unable to attend the Assembly (The DMK leader underwent a spinal surgery shortly before the Lok Sabha polls in 2009 from which he had a miraculous recovery.)
“The AIADMK government that has not made any facility for me in the House has no moral responsibility to invite me to the Assembly,” he said.
To drive home the point that he was never afraid of challenging anyone politically, Mr. Karunanidhi said he had debated with veteran legislators, including K. Kamaraj, Bhaktavatsalam, C. Subramaniam, R. Venkatraman, M.R. Venkatraman, R. Umanath and K.T.K. Thangamani.
“The former Chief Minister, M.G. Ramachandran, was so captivated by my arguments once that he took a day to answer my questions,” he recalled. Mr Karunanidhi also pointed out that both MGR and Jayalalithaa (AIADMK general secretary) had stayed away from the proceedings for several days in the past.
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