Karunanidhi likely to skip party's jail bharo attempt on Wednesday

Chennai: Will DMK chief M Karunanidhi skip the much publicised 'fill-the-jails' state-wide demonstration by his party on Wednesday? Indications of his absence emerged from the party's mouthpiece 'Murasoli' this evening.

In his daily letter to his workers, the 89-year-old partriarch says, "It's my great desire to be part of the Jail bharo agitation. I have participated in each and every agitation and have always been sent off, never been the one to send the others off. Though I have not been announced as one of the participants, as I said in the Tambaram meeting, I would like to remind you that Karunanidhi would be there in the list, even if not in the first list, my heart and soul would be with the jail bharo agitation."

A DMK leader told NDTV that "you cannot expect such an elderly leader who is 89 years old and moves in a wheel chair to court arrest. His moral support is enough for us. He will guide us in our fight against vendetta."

Under fire on land grab charges ever since the AIADMK was swept to power, almost all the former DMK ministers have been arrested; some even detained under the Goondas Act. Many of the top leaders are now out on bail. The agitation is to condemn what the DMK calls 'vindictive police action'.

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Mr Karunanidhi had earlier appealed to his cadre to ensure that there is no violence at the demonstration and made it clear that none of those who court arrest should apply for bail.

In a related development, sources say a lawyer from Kolathur, the constituency of DMK treasurer MK Stalin, plans to move the Madras High Court against the staging of Wednesday's demonstration. The petition is yet to come up for hearing and may be listed tomorrow.

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