Karunanidhi blames Centre for Kani plight

Kanimozhi is in prison either due to the orders of the Centre or because of its complacency, said an emotionally charged Karunanidhi on Sunday,speaking at a meeting to thank voters of his hometown Tiruvarur from where he was elected this time.

Overcome by emotions at this point,the veteran leader stopped his speech for a brief moment to regain his poise and continued: You all know the situation inside Tihar jail. A flower kept there will rapidly wither away.

The doting father,who has been shattered by the recent turn of events that had his daughter arrested and put behind bars for her alleged role in channelling a portion of the kickbacks from the scam to the party owned television channel,maintained that it was due to his insistence that Kanimozhi became a partner in Kalaignar TV.

The fault is in fact entirely mine; it was I who asked her to become a partner in the channel, he said. When I met her in prison,she said the Dravidian movement had inculcated a fighting spirit in her and she would fight courageously, he added,sensing a conspiracy to destroy the Dravidian movement. I will defeat the designs to destroy the DMK. For this purpose,I am not quitting public life now; I will continue to fight with your support, Karunanidhi told the crowd,whom he termed as his kin.