‘Stalin kept Karunanidhi under house arrest to be party chief’

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday alleged that as the DMK president M. K. Stalin could find no shortcomings to either criticise him or the AIADMK government, he had “set up” two of the Kodanad case accused, Sayan and “Walayar” Manoj, to falsely implicate him in the Kodanad burglary-cum-murder case.

Campaigning in the Nilgiris, Mr. Palaniswami alleged that both the main accused in the case had given interviews to the media implicating him in the case at the behest of Mr. Stalin.

The Chief Minister also slammed the DMK’s Lok Sabha candidate for the Nilgiris constituency, A Raja, who was in prison on charges of corruption relating to the 2G scam (of which he has since been acquitted).

Mr. Palaniswami wondered how Mr. Stalin could accuse the AIADMK of corruption and yet allow the candidacy of Mr. Raja in the Nilgiris.

Speaking at a campaign in Coonoor, Mr. Palaniswami alleged that Mr. Stalin kept his father, the late DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi, under “house arrest,” to become party president.

Mr. Palaniswami said Mr. Karunanidhi had become incapable of speaking during the last couple of years of his life due to lack of proper medical care given to him.

“Stalin knew that if Karunanidhi could speak, he would never have become party president,” said Mr. Palaniswami, who said that DMK party members themselves had told him that Mr. Karunanidhi would have been able to speak properly if proper treatment had been given to him.

Mr. Palaniswami added that if there were any suspicions surrounding the death of Mr. Karunanidhi, it was the “duty” of the government to investigate, stating that the AIADMK would launch an investigation into Mr. Karunanidhi’s death.