Chennai: Unfazed at the ruling DMK's threat to sue him for libel and issuing a Rs 500 cr legal notice, Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai on Monday asserted that he is prepared to face it legally and in retaliation, demanded a compensation of Rs 500 crore and One Rupee from DMK Organisational Secretary RS Bharathi for making 'baseless and false allegations'.
Having rattled both the DMK and the principal opposition AIADMK with his crusade against corruption, the former IPS officer appears unwilling to relent. Continuing with his 'DMK Files' released on Tamil New Year Day (April 14), he posted a four-page statement on Twitter, picking holes in the legal notice sent by Bharathi and reminding him of previous such notices which have not been pursued to their logical end.
While Bharathi had sought Rs 500 cr as damages which would be paid into the Tamil Nadu CM's relief fund, the saffron leader demands one rupee more and the whole amount would be sent to the PM CARES Fund. “Bharathi had made baseless false allegations against me, Bharathi at his presser the day before, charged that I had received Rs 84 cr as a bribe from the private finance firm Arudhra. For making unfounded allegations against me and the BJP in the public domain, I demand Rs 500 cr and One Rupee in compensation. This, I want to pay to the PM CARES Fund,” read the statement.
“Failure to provide an explanation for leveling these unsubstantiated allegations within 48 hours will result in legal steps being initiated against you (Bharathi). The reply for the legal notice sent as well as the one seeking compensation will reach shortly,” it added.
Drawing an analogy, he said there was a photo of Chief Minister Stalin on May 19 last meeting the proprietors of the Hijavu finance company, facing criminal cases of defrauding investors and receiving Rs 25 lakh for the CM Relief Fund. “Can I charge Stalin with direct involvement in this financial fraud by receiving Rs 100 crore?” he asked Bharathi.
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Making light of the legal notice, Annamalai said “I thank Bharathi for having watched in full the video, DMK Files, released by the BJP as well the presser followed by it. Earlier also, Bharathi had filed a Rs 500 cr legal notice for exposing the award of contract for BGR firm and then a Rs 100 cr notice for questioning the Dubai visit of DMK president MK Stalin. The DMK has amassed assets in crores, yet the party's organization secretary is seeking Rs 500 cr more from me.”
According to the saffron leader, there are factual discrepancies in the legal notice. “Initially you have dismissed as false that the value of schools owned by DMK functionaries is Rs 34,78.18 cr and that of colleges and universities Rs 34,187.71 cr. But subsequently, you maintain that assets and institutions owned by a DMK member cannot be construed as belonging to the party. Can the DMK organizational secretary arrogate to himself the right to deny on the one hand that these are not that of the party and on the other say that the details of the assets of DMK members are untrue.”
The details of schools and colleges owned by the DMK functionaries have been provided under a separate heading. “Chief Minister MK Stalin's daughter runs Sunshine Chennai Senior Secondary School, Chennai Public School run by the kin of Kalanidhi Veerasamy, MP, PPWD Minister EV Velu's wife administers Jeeva Velu International School, Arunai Engineering College, and Medical College. We did not claim that all of them pay the education fee collected by them to Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters. To find fault somehow, Bharathi appears to be befuddling.”
On the 'apparent contradictions' in Bharathi's legal notice, he said at one place he claims that no agreement had been signed with Nobel Steels and then denies any link between Udhayanidhi Stalin and the private firm. “I had posted the news about Nobel Steels signing an MOU for Rs 1000 cr in my Twitter handle. DMK Rajya Sabha member MM Abdullah has been one of the directors of Nobel Ferrous and Power Ltd along with Basheer Mohammed. Once again, I raise the question as to whose money is being invested in Tamil Nadu,” the statement read.
Then the statement reiterated Annalamalai's earlier claim that he had all the documentary evidence for the corruption in Chennai Metro Rail during the previous DMK regime which would be submitted to the CBI. “As such, I request Bharathi to be patient till his party president and others involved in this are summoned,” he said.
