Chennai:
The DMK has decided to boycott the June 12 bye-election to the Pudukkottai Assembly constituency, alleging that no opposition party would get justice from the Election Commission.
"The poll date has been announced after consultations between AIADMK and some persons in the Election Commission," DMK Chief Karunanidhi told reporters on Thursday.
He was replying to a question about why Election Commission (EC) was not taking any action on the reports of alleged irregularities indulged in by the ruling AIADMK in the constituency.
The DMK Chief said that the Jayalalithaa-government had announced a Rs 50 crore special development package for Pudukottai Municipality, two days before the poll schedule was announced.
"Opposition parties contesting the bye-election will not get justice from the EC and hence DMK has decided to boycott the election," he said.
CPI and PMK have already decided not to contest the by-poll, following the death of CPI leader SP Muthukumaran in a road accident on April 1.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had already nominated VR Karthik Thondaiman to contest the bye-election and had constituted a working group, which includes almost the entire state cabinet, to ensure the victory of the party nominee.
Mr Karunanidhi alleged that Ms Jayalalithaa was responsible for the state facing acute power shortage as she did not allow the Kudankulam Nuclear Plant to function.
"It was Jayalalithaa who worked with the protestors and wrote to the Prime Minister against its commissioning," he said.
He recalled that her government had passed a resolution in the assembly not to allow the plant to function. "Now she has again written to the Prime Minister asking that the entire power generated from the plant be allotted to the state," he said.