Chennai: The war of words between Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and DMK president M Karunanidhi
over the DMK headquarters land issue escalated on Saturday with the
former insisting her mentor and AIADMK founder late M G
Ramachandran did not sign documents on the DMK's purchase.
"Karunanidhi had stated that MGR's name was present in the
DMK Trust. I am not saying his name was not there but his
signature is not in the documents regarding purchase of land
for Anna Arivalayam," she said while campaigning for the two
phased civic polls on October 17 and 19.
Alleging that Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters, had
become Karunanidhi's "family property," Jayalalithaa said her
bete noire was trying to "hide the truth," on the land deal.
Karunanidhi had hit out at Jayalalithaa for her "land
grabbing" remark, reminding her that MGR was the DMK
treasurer when the land was acquired.
Jayalalithaa, who has been alleging that Anna Arivalayam
was constructed on grabbed land, had said that although MGR
was the then DMK treasurer, he had questioned the "strong-arm
methods" of Karunanidhi in purchase of the land from a
zamindar family and insisted that he had been expelled from
DMK for opposing such irregularities.
However, Karunanidhi had insisted no wrong was done and
said the 25 grounds (one ground equals 2,400 sq ft) where Anna
Arivalayam stands now was bought for Rs 9 lakh in 1972 by
the DMK trust, of which he was the president and (late party
leader) Nedunchezhian and MGR its members.
While Jayalalithaa had claimed the property was built on 90
grounds and challenged Karunanidhi to part with the rest, he
had warned her against any attempt to 'usurp' it, saying "the
day she tries to do that will be the last day of her
government."
PTI
First Published: Saturday, October 15, 2011, 15:28