In a surprising and sudden move, DMK president M Karunanidhi on Sunday went on a fast inside his MLA office at Chepauk, demanding the immediate arrest of those responsible for vandalising the newly-built building two days ago. He gave up the fast after more than an hour, only after the city police commissioner assured him that the culprits would soon be brought to book. Many DMK partymen raised slogans against the police and the government when Karunanidhi observed the fast. The fast had its echo in Madurai, where DMK men, led by Karunanidhi's son, M K Azhagiri and former minister, Pon Muthuramalingam, sat on a dharna. They disbursed peacefully after hearing the news that the fast had been called off. Meanwhile, chief minister Jayalalithaa, in a statement, alleged that it was a pre-planned work of the DMK, to embarass and blame the government. Jayalalithaa said that by undertaking the fast, Karunanidhi was trying to earn 'cheap political gain' and publicity. Why should his MLA office alone be targeted for attack?, she asked. Jayalalithaa said that she was unable to understand why a person with so much political experience was indulging in ‘cheap gimmicks' and trying to 'make a mountain out of a mole hill'. It would be better if he changed his 'unhealthy politics for the good of the state', she said.
Bureau Report