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Vaiko serves legal notice on Karunanidhi

Special Correspondent

Seeks Rs. 1 crore in damages for "defamatory remarks"

APPEAL TO VOTERS: MDMK general secretary Vaiko addressing an election meeting at Chinthadripet on Tuesday. — Photo: R. Ragu

CHENNAI: Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Vaiko has sent a legal notice to DMK president M. Karunanidhi, for having spoken about him in a "mischievous and highly defamatory" manner. He has sought Rs. 1 crore in damages.

Addressing a public meeting at Chintadripet in the Chepauk constituency, Mr.Vaiko said Mr. Karunanidhi had said in Erode that the Communists had accused him (Vaiko) of being responsible for the death of three Adi Dravida youths at Kalingapatti.

He was also described as someone fanatical about his caste. The speech was made "with an intention to harm his reputation in the estimation of the public and party cadre and lower" his "moral character." It was reproduced in the DMK organ Murasoli.

Apology sought

Mr. Vaiko has also sent notices to Murasoli Selvam, editor and printer of the paper, and M.K.Stalin, publisher. Mr.Vaiko has demanded an "unconditional open apology" for the speech and want it published in Murasoli and all leading newspapers in the next 24 hours.

Mr. Vaiko said the people of Chepauk had many questions for Mr.Karunanidhi. They wanted to know why the seat held from 1977 to 1991 by a Muslim was not offered to a representative of the community in the next three elections. They also wanted to know what he had done for the constituency in the past five years and why he refused to attend the Assembly.

"If you did not want to attend the Assembly, at least you could have resigned and allowed someone else to contest and represent the constituency. Why did you not do that?"

Reasons demanded

Mr. Vaiko wanted Mr. Karunanidhi to make public his reasons for not attending the Assembly. If he feared violence or bad behaviour on the part of the ruling party MLAs, that could have happened on any of the days Mr. Karunanidhi came to sign the register in the Assembly lobby.

He said Speaker K. Kalimuthu had informed the Assembly that he would allow Mr.Karunanidhi to speak without standing up.

Mr. Vaiko said DMK leaders were speaking about him in demeaning terms. But he was not bothered as his life's ambition was to serve the people of the State.

He would seek justice from the people and would not be cowed down by these senseless attacks and name calling.

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