'DMK indulging in vilification campaign'

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, FEB. 5. While continuing to deny any involvement of the AIADMK in the bus burning incident in Dharmapuri, the party general secretary, Ms. Jayalalitha, today said the vilification campaign, which was a fall-out of the tragedy, would adversely affect the AIADMK prospects in the three byelections. ``It will provide a handy tool for the DMK to beat us with,'' she said.

Claiming that the attack on the bus was planned very carefully in order to sabotage the chances of the AIADMK in the byelections, Ms. Jayalalitha appealed to the student community not to be carried away by the ``vicious propaganda'' of the DMK.

Ms. Jayalalitha, who earlier submitted a memorandum to the Governor, Ms. Fathima Beevi, seeking a CBI inquiry into the bus burning incident, said she had no other recourse but to depend on the Central investigating agency (although the DMK was part of the government at the Centre).

The Governor, she told reporters, had agreed with her that the truth behind the tragedy must come out.

The memorandum wanted the Governor to ``do the needful'' to enjoin the State Government to ask for a CBI inquiry. ``In the highly charged political atmosphere in the State, with the DMK deliberately trying to besmirch the name of the AIADMK, it is necessary that the whole truth comes out to assuage the feelings of the people, as otherwise it will only vitiate the political atmosphere in the State on the eve of byelections.''

Ms. Jayalalitha informed the Governor that the AIADMK was perturbed by what transpired at Dharmapuri. ``Without losing any more time, I seek your good offices to expedite a CBI inquiry into the tragedy.''

The incident, claiming the lives of three women students, was ``gory enough'' to be denounced by one and all irrespective of party affiliations. While condemning the perpetrators of the crime ``unreservedly'', she said the DMK Government, under Mr. Karunanidhi, was ``making herculean efforts to dilate on the incident and trying its best to utilise the tragedy to establish some sort of nexus between the incendiary attack on the bus and the AIADMK.''

All the State authorities in Tamil Nadu, including the Chief Minister, the council of ministers and the police were currently engaged vigorously in a vilification campaign against the AIADMK. ``There seems to be a deliberately orchestrated campaign to vilify the AIADMK with the gross purpose of politically isolating the party,'' she said.

The DMK, knowing that its prospects of victory in the bypolls were dim, was indulging in the vilification campaign. The AIADMK, she said, was interested in knowing the full truth about the incident. A CB-CID inquiry by the State Government would not suffice in any sense or meet the ends of justice.

Ms. Jayalalitha told reporters after the meeting with the Governor that the ``true attitude'' of the government to the tragedy was evident in the manner in which the police resorted to a lathicharge and fired buck shots in the air to disperse students who had encircled the Dharmapuri district collector demanding the arrest of those involved in the crime.

Ms. Jayalalitha wanted to know why a police vehicle which passed the burning bus did not stop despite requests from the students. Also, no effort was made to put out the fire quickly though the fire station was close to the scene of the incident, she said.

The AIADMK leader wondered why the cameraman of the TV channel, which showed the bus burning incident from beginning to end, did not stop to rescue the girls.

Referring to the surrender of the AIADMK union secretary, who was wanted by the police in the case, she said he had surrendered as he had been listed as an accused and as he did not want to cause any embarrassment to her. However, she had not made any contact with him. The AIADMK knew of the details of the incident from the media and from reports of partymen. The party's students wing would try to ascertain further details about the tragedy, she added.

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