Stumped by ED action against Marans, DMK to fine tune strategy

Chennai: DMK today said it should not be targeted following the action by Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Dayanidhi Maran and his family members.

 After the ED attached assets worth Rs 742.58 crore of Dayanidhi Maran and his family members, DMK is looking to fine tune its strategy to ensure that the issue does not cost it politically.

 "What is our party's link to Sun TV or the so called Aircel-Maxis deal case Nothing," a senior DMK leader told PTI adding, "Dayanidhi Maran may have been the telecom minister but the party cannot be targeted for it."

 He, however, said the party will "fine tune its strategy" to ensure that its present aggressive campaign against the ruling AIADMK ahead of next year's Assembly polls is not blunted by political rivals following ED action.

 Parties including main opposition DMDK and PMK have been campaigning that both AIADMK and DMK are parties that have to be ignored, charging both are corrupt and have "ruined Tamil Nadu" by ruling it alternately for almost 50 years.

 Conceding that political rivals will try to use the issue against DMK, he said the party will make it clear to the people as and when needed that it has nothing to do with the issue.

 "It is something concerning the Marans alone and they will defend themselves legally," he added.

 Also, nothing has been proven against Marans and it's all allegations as of now "unlike the disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa in which she was convicted and sentenced to four years in jail," the leader said.

 Still, DMK functionaries feel the party will have to do a lot of answering as Dayanidhi Maran continued to be a top level functionary who was given a ticket in last year's Lok Sabha polls as well.

The DMK like PMK and other rivals is targeting the ruling AIADMK on alleged corruption issues. The recent alleged suicide of agriculture engineering department official Muthukumaraswamy is now an issue taken up by opposition parties to target the ruling party in the state.

 Also, DMK is trying to keep the pot boiling by frequently raking up the verdict against Jayalalithaa in the graft case.

 At such a juncture, the action by ED has stumped it forcing the party to think on tinkering its campaign line so as to ensure that it is not affected by the recent episode.