Chennai: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has issued a legal notice to the BJP, seeking an unconditional apology and a compensation of Rs 500 crore for making allegations against the ruling party’s leaders, including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, as part of the party’s ‘DMK Files’ campaign last week.
On 14 April, Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai released a video with a purported “expose” aimed at the DMK. He claimed assets purportedly worth Rs 1.34 lakh crore were owned by 12 DMK members, including CM Stalin, his son and state minister Udhayanidhi, son-in-law V. Sabareesan, and sister Kanimozhi Karunanidhi.
The DMK has claimed in the notice that the allegations “are wrongful, lacking proof, demeaning, imaginary”, and sought the video’s removal from the public domain.
Among other things, the party notes that the BJP has not revealed the source of funding for offices set up in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, and the donations it has received through electoral bonds, and asks if “anyone can presume” that these are the BJP’s “ill-gotten wealth”.
The legal notice was issued on 15 April by DMK organisational secretary R.S. Bharathi, and released to the media on 16 April.
It says that Annamalai has to tender an unconditional apology within 48 hours for trying “to tarnish the image of CM MK Stalin who has been in public life for the last 56 years and other DMK leaders”.
“The damages to the tune of Rs 500 crore that would be donated by Annamalai will be used in the CM’s public relief fund,” it adds.
If Annamalai fails to comply, the notice says, the DMK will initiate civil and criminal proceedings against the former IPS officer. Further to that, all “costs and consequences arising therefrom” will also be the liability of Annamalai, it says.
Annamalai has said he is ready to face legal action, issuing a statement challenging Bharathi to present evidence for the allegations he has made.
BJP state secretary Vinoj P. Selvam has described the notice as an “intimidation tactic used by the DMK”.
“This is just an eyewash to try to show they are doing clean politics in front of the public,” he added.
‘Wild statements made without proof’
In the first part of ‘DMK Files’, Annamalai sought to raise four questions — these pertained to an alleged bribe paid to Stalin for “favouring a tender” during the Chennai metro rail project phase 1, signing an MoU with Noble Steel, which once had Udhayanidhi Stalin and Anbil Mahesh (state minister) as directors, investor details for Udhayanidhi’s production house Red Giant Movies, and Sabareesan’s alleged involvement in a suspected money laundering company.
Annamalai said there were three more parts to the campaign that will be released before the 2024 parliamentary elections. “Every party that ruled the state will be exposed before 2024. If I am going to expose corruption, I will have to expose the corruption of everyone,” he added.
The DMK legal notice says ‘DMK Files’ makes “wild statements” without any proof.
Referring to the bribery allegations, it said the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK, a BJP ally), “which formed the next government, continued the same project”.
“The project was inaugurated by [then] Union Minister of Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu, then chief minister Jayalalithaa. Further, the expansion of the project was inaugurated by the then chief minister K, Edappadi Palaniswami and Prime Minister Modi,” it added.
“The contract for the second phase of the metro rail project has been awarded to the very same company. Does this mean that you are saying that your ally, the AIADMK, and the Prime Minister have taken part in the corruption?”
In Tamil Nadu, a state dominated by Dravidian parties, Annamalai and the BJP have “been unable to make a mark electorally”, it adds.
“You have been making constant attempts to defame, scandalise and tarnish the reputation of the DMK president, and other leaders and members of the DMK party [with mala fide intention],” the notice says.
Annamalai responds with statement
In the legal notice, Bharathi says Annamalai has failed to understand the “difference between the assets of a party and those of a person”.
“You (Annamalai) often claim that you own 3-4 goats, will these goats become the asset of the BJP party? Or will your Rafael watch become the asset of the BJP party?”
In 2019, he adds, “the BJP constructed a party office at a cost of Rs 700 crore in New Delhi and Rs 100 crore in Madhya Pradesh”.
“To date, the BJP has not disclosed what was the source of funding for this construction. Can it be assumed that the entire money was from corruption and ill-gotten wealth?”
Referring to Election Commission data on electoral bonds (based on disclosures made by respective parties), Bharathi noted that the BJP had been donated Rs 5,270 crore through the instrument between March 2018 and 2022, out of the total of Rs 9,208 crore worth of electoral bonds sold in the period.
The source of these funds and the names of the corporate entities who donated these funds, Bharathi says, have not been disclosed to the public to date by the BJP.
“Can anyone presume that every rupee of these donations and expenditures are ill-gotten wealth of the BJP party?” he adds.
“Merely because the party has certain properties, creating innuendos that these are the result of ill-gotten wealth is per se defamatory. Similarly, lumping together certain imaginary properties allegedly belonging to the members of DMK party and projecting it as the wealth of the party is with a malicious intention of tarnishing the reputation of the party and its cadres,” it adds.
Annamalai has responded to Bharathi’s legal notice, and demanded “Rs 500 crore and Re 1” as damages for the allegations he has made against him & the BJP.
“If Bharathi fails to give an explanation for the allegations in 48 hours, he will be sued,” Annamalai said in a statement.
Vinoj P. Selvam of the BJP said the DMK legal notice was a bid to “fool people”.
“Our state president stands by what he has said and he has done extensive homework to bring out these data and information. This is just the tip of the iceberg, further files will be released as promised by the party chief,” he added.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)