Chennai, Jan. 29: The cracks in the DMK-led alliance came to the fore in the Assembly today with allies Congress and PMK alleging their leaders’ phones were being tapped.

Chief minister M. Karunanidhi denied the charges, dubbing it a “mischievous attempt” to discredit the regime, which completes two years this May.

PMK floor leader G.K. Mani led the attack, waving a copy of a newspaper that listed the numbers of leaders whose phones were allegedly being tapped by police’s intelligence wing.

Mani, whose party has been critical of the government on several issues, claimed the cellphones of PMK leader S. Ramadoss, MLA Velmurugan — who has spoken out against the regime — and his own had been bugged.

The list also included the cell numbers of state Congress chief M. Krishnasamy and his MLA son Vishnu. Mani claimed the alleged privacy breach extended to senior journalists, too. Later in the evening, Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy alleged his phone was also being tapped.

Karunanidhi denied the charges. “My officers examined the report and found no substance in it,” he declared, adding sections of the media published such “incorrect reports on the basis of speculation”.

State police chief P. Rajendran echoed the chief minister, saying the tapping allegations were “an attempt to tarnish the reputation of the government”.

Pro-LTTE groups

The government is ready to bring a tougher law to rein in pro-LTTE groups “if need be”, the chief minister said.

The reassurance was meant to calm Congress leaders who said Dalit Panthers of India leader Thol Thirumavalavan had eulogised Tamil Tiger chief V. Prabhakran at a Chennai rally. The LTTE is accused of killing Rajiv Gandhi.