Chennai:
The Tamil Nadu Police has arrested a sitting DMDK Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Arun Subramaniam on land grab charges. Mr Subramaniam, who represents Tiruttani constituency, had allegedly usurped a municipal property and raised a godown. He is the first DMDK leader to be arrested by the AIADMK government.
DMDK chief Vijayakanth claimed 'political vendetta' behind the arrest. He adds, "It's absurd to say Mr Subramanian had usurped land, as he never occupied any important position in the government. The Jayalalithaa government is foisting criminal cases against rivals in the name of land grab charges and this shows they are targeting DMDK now."
Over the last one year the DMK, led by former chief minister M Karunanidhi, has been at the receiving end of Ms Jayalalithaa's alleged 'political vendetta'. The state police had arrested hundreds of DMK cadres, including senior leaders and former ministers, on similar charges. The DMK too had alleged it as political vendetta, and recently the party had staged a jail-bharo protest across the state. In the past, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had claimed that these arrests were made on the basis of genuine complaints by ordinary people with no political affiliation.
Interestingly the AIADMK and DMDK fought the assembly elections together but parted ways after Ms Jayalalithaa won an overwhelming majority. DMDK won 29 seats and became the main opposition party in the Tamil Nadu assembly. Whether it is political arm twisting or a crackdown on the basis of concrete evidence, it seems Tamil Nadu is heading for more such dramas ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.