PMK leader S Ramadoss today accused DMK president and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi of scripting the comments made by a partyman in an interview to a Tamil journal last week. The partyman had heaped abuses on Ramadoss calling him a “fraud” and a “blackmailer”.Ramadoss’s allegation is bound to plunge relations between the two parties to a new low and even throw a question mark over the issue of continuing alliance. Incidentally, the PMK which had 18 members in the Tamil Nadu Assembly extends outside support to the DMK which has 96 members in the 234-strong House. The party is short of 24 seats away from a clear majority on its own. The DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance also includes the Congress which has 34 members, the CPI(M) which has 9 and the CPI with 6. “This was not an interview given by Vetrikondan (the DMK public platform speaker). It was prepared at Arivu Aalayam (read Anna Arivalayam, which is the DMK headquarters in Chennai). Kalaignar (as Karunanidhi is called by his partymen and allies) had personally vetted the statement and cleared it,” Ramadoss told reporters.He also alleged that Vetrikondan’s son, functionary of a local body belonging to the DMK, had stated that his father had been asked to put his signature to the interview that appeared in the Tamil magazine. Ramadoss said Karunanidhi had failed to express regret as soon as the interview appeared. It was only on last Friday when PMK members staged a dharna in front of his chambers at the state Secretariat that the Chief Minister had summoned them and expressed regret about the remarks. Ramadoss also accused Karunanidhi of not consulting his allies on several matters, including the Cauvery water dispute, Mullaperiyar and corporate entry in fresh food retail business. He said: “We cannot give our nod to every move the government takes that might go against the people.”Ruling out any move to withdraw support to the DMK government, he said: “We will not go back on our word on extending support to the DMK government in Tamil Nadu till it completed its full five year term” and added that he was treating the Vetrikondan issue as “closed”.Talking about the bitterness among the leaders of the two parties in the past few months percolating to the lower rungs of the parties, Ramadoss said he had suggested to Karunnaidhi that the DMK, as the leader of the DPA, should take the initiative to ensure that there was “good co-operation” at all levels among the allies.
