Karunanidhi is not in control of the party, says outsed DMK leader Alagiri

Madurai: Taking his long battle against younger brother M. K. Stalin to a new high in pungent hatred stemmed from his recent suspension from the DMK, Alagiri on Monday said his father Karunanidhi was no longer in control of the party. Evil forces have taken charge and even the list of 35 candidates for the April 24 poll was drawn up without the approval of Kalaignar, he told his supporters who had gathered at his Dhaya Mahal here. DMK would lose badly as wrong candidates, who were not even remotely connected to the DMK ideals, had been chosen. It was his bounden duty to save the party from such elements as the DMK had been built on the sacrifices of many, said Alagiri, while also blaming his father for letting things slip out of control.

“I appreciate Jayalalithaa. She is in total control as she ensures party discipline, even changing the district secretaries every year. Unlike in the DMK, she alone chooses her party candidates for the election,” Alagiri said.

He said the argument that the DMK was a democratic party was no longer valid because even the fax messages he had sent to Kalaignar, highlighting certain issues, were not delivered to him. He would further discuss with his followers on how to set things right, he declared.

Sounding ominous, he told the gathering at Monday’s Mahal meet that they should go back to their native places and consult the others on steps to redeem the DMK and Kalaignar from the evil forces that had taken control. This advisory could well mean that the followers should work for the fall of the DMK candidates in the elections. It may be recalled that Alagiri recently promised help to Congress MP, J.M. Haroon in his Theni constituency where the DMK has also fielded candidate and earlier called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Delhi.

Clearly, the rebel is determined to sabotage the DMK chances in this crucial poll. Party loyalists insist that he would not be able to cause much damage since Stalin has already wrenched the control of the party units in all the southern districts from his elder brother. “Alagiri might have succeeded in derailing DMK in the 2002 assembly poll but we must understand that at that time, he was quite powerful in the southern units; not anymore,” said a party senior.