Chennai: Rejecting allegations of AIADMK chief
Jayalalithaa that he had amassed wealth in public life, Chief
Minister M Karunanidhi on Tuesday declared his assets, saying he
possessed nothing more than a house at Chennai and a
little over Rs six crore deposits in a bank.
"It is not true that I came to Chennai penniless. I had
started earning even before settling down here....` the DMK
patriarch, who has come under repeated attacks from
Jayalalithaa, wrote in party mouthpiece `Murasoli`.
He said he had made enough money in his early days as a
playwright and scriptwriter for various Tamil films.
"I was paid Rs 10,000 in those days when my play `Manthiri
Kumari` was made into a film by (noted comedian), late N S
Krishnan. He later even gifted me a car in Chennai when I won
a bet with him," Karunanidhi said.
The 87-year-old DMK chief said the house he is now residing
in was bought many years ago for Rs 45,000 and despite his
party colleagues’ insistence, had never stayed in an
official residence, either as minister or Chief Minister.
"In fact, this house is so small that my children now live
in separate homes bought by them," Karunanidhi, whose son M K
Stalin is the deputy Chief Minister, said. His second son
M K Alagiri is a union minister and Karunanidhi`s daughter
Kanimozhi an MP.
He said he had written screenplays for more than 75 Tamil
films and used the revenue earned for philanthropic purposes.
He owns no other property other than his house at Chennai.
Recalling the birth and growth of Sun TV from his nephew,
the late Murasoli Maran?s times, he said when the latter’s
son Kalanidhi Maran wanted to run the management by himself,
he (Karunanidhi) had received his share of Rs 100 crore.
"I was left with Rs 77.50 crore after paying taxes and
divided it among my sons and daughters. I was left with Rs 10
crore. I deposited Rs five crore from that towards creating a
Kalaignar Karunanidhi Trust? and have been helping the poor
from the interest received on that amount," he said.
"I possess a sum of Rs 5.65 crore as Fixed Deposit and
Rs 35.90 lakh in savings bank account," he said.
-PTI
