By IANS,
Chennai: In a state where even exchanging pleasantries with opposition party leaders is considered blasphemous, an AIADMK legislator met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and criticised his own party chief J. Jayalalithaa.
K. Rajendran met DMK chief Karunanidhi Friday morning and said he had submitted a memorandum to the chief minister to carry out development works in his Jayamkondan constituency.
Criticising Jayalalithaa, he said the DMK government has increased the procurement price of sugarcane to Rs.1,550 per tonne as against Rs.775 paid during the former’s regime.
Present during the meeting were DMK MP and union Minister for Information Technology and Communications A. Raja and Perambalur District DMK secretary S.S. Sivasankar.
Rajendran became the second AIADMK legislator to meet Karunanidhi in a week’s time petitioning for development projects in their constituencies.
Last week, AIADMk legislator L. Radhakrishnan met Karunanidhi and his two sons – Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and union Chemicals and Fertilizer Minister M.K. Alagiri.
Sometime back, AIADMK’s Tiruchendur legislator Anita Radhakrishnan resigned his post and joined DMK only to be re-elected under the latter’s ticket.
It was S.V. Shekar, the AIADMK legislator from Mylapore who first started praising Karunanidhi after he was sidelined within the party.
He congratulated Stalin on his elevation as the deputy chief minister.
Subsequently, he was expelled from the party last July and now he remains an unattached member in the state assembly.
The AIADMK has 57 members in the state assembly.
Reacting to the latest development, AIADMK’s Rajya Sabha member V. Maitreyan told IANS: “The DMK is stooping to lowest levels against all democratic norms and electoral ethics.”
He said the two legislators have been divested of their party posts but he remained non-committal on the future course of action against them.
According to AIADMK sources, the party may not take any further action on the two legislators that may warrant their resignation and a by-poll which the DMK has been winning.
“For four years, these MLAs (members of legislative assembly) were silent and didn’t make an issue of not being able to speak in the assembly. It is interesting why they are now complaining,” remarked an AIADMK leader.
According to one view, the two legislators may get DMK nomination in a by-poll if they resign, but not during the assembly elections.