Karunanidhi statements contradictory: Jayalalithaa

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, OCT. 24. Denying that her party was involved in malpractices during the civic polls as alleged by the DMK, the AIADMK general secretary, Ms. Jayalalithaa, today said the DMK president, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, did not know ``how to be gracious either in defeat or in victory''.

In a statement, she said Mr. Karunanidhi was releasing contradictory statements depending on whether his son, Mr. M.K. Stalin, was ahead or facing defeat in the contest for Chennai Mayor.

At first, when it was evident that the AIADMK was leading in the civic polls, Mr. Karunanidhi remarked that violence had been unleashed and that his partymen had been intimidated and assaulted. However, following reports that Mr. Stalin was leading, he spoke of the ``beacon of democracy'' becoming visible. Later, when he found that Mr. Stalin's lead had shrunk to just 3,000, the DMK chief stated democracy had been raped during the AIADMK rule. All charges existed only in the DMK imagination, she said.

If indeed, the election had taken place as alleged by Mr. Karunanidhi, how could Mr. Stalin won the mayorship, Ms. Jayalalithaa wondered.

Noting that the DMK had won seats in corporations, municipalities and, to an extent, even in town panchayats, Ms. Jayalalithaa wanted to know how this would have been possible had there been malpractices.

Recalling that Mr. Karunanidhi had charged that the conspiracy to indulge in electoral malpractice was hatched at her residence with police officials, Ms. Jayalalithaa said no senior police official had come to her residence and hatched any conspiracy.

Condemning the insinuations against her, the AIADMK leader said her partymen would not tolerate such false propaganda on the part of Mr. Karunanidhi.

If the charges made by Mr. Karunanidhi were true, how could the AIADMK have lost in Periakulam, hometown of the Chief Minister, Mr. O. Paneerselvam, she wondered. While admitting that there could have been isolated and sporadic incidents, she said these should not be projected to give the impression that there were largescale irregularities in the polls.

The polls, she said, were conducted in a free and fair manner within electoral rules and regulations. However, despite police action, in elections of such magnitude involving a large number of constituencies and candidates, some untoward incidents did take place. In the current elections too, only a few untoward incidents occurred. Even these incidents were engineered by DMK men who wanted to bring disrepute to the AIADMK Government, she said.

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