Karunanidhi

Chennai, March 26: The Election Commission is the latest on M. Karunanidhi’s hate list after rivals Jayalalithaa and Vijayakanth, following its crackdown on transport of money in the state and transfers of top officials.

In a speech at Tiruchy, the DMK chief last night alleged that the poll panel was not being fair. “It appears they are listening only to what the Opposition parties are saying, which is not an impartial way to conduct elections. The Election Commission should mend its ways now that even the high court has objected to its methods,” he told an election meeting last night.

Madras High Court had on March 23 questioned the Election Commission’s seizure of money during random checks after a PIL was filed by a retired headmaster saying this affected small traders who have to carry cash for their business.

The court also suo motu admitted as PIL a statement issued by Karunanidhi criticising the poll panel for seizure of cash and transferring officials without consulting the state government.

K. Praveen Kumar, the chief electoral officer of Tamil Nadu, clarified that only random checks would help ferret out money meant for bribing voters. Whenever anyone produced records or bank slips for the cash they were carrying, they were allowed to go, he said.

In Delhi, chief election commissioner S.Y. Quraishi pointed out yesterday that there was no precedent for the poll panel consulting state governments before transferring officials. “If we do that, it would only help the ruling party,” he said.

What had really upset the chief minister was the Election Commission’s decision last week to transfer the state’s police chief and five other officers apart from three district collectors. Four of the transferred officials — a collector, a DIG, a superintendent of police and a police commissioner — are connected to Madurai, the constituency of Karunanidhi’s elder son and Union minister Alagiri.

The poll panel also declared Madurai district as “money sensitive” after Rs 3.8 crore in cash was seized during vehicle checks. A total of Rs 21 crore has been seized in the state.

DMK leaders are also uncomfortable about the Election Commission’s latest directive to declare the assets of all close relatives of candidates, compelling Karunanidhi and another minister to go public with the assets of their second wives as well.

The clampdown on unnecessary election expenses has prevented the ruling DMK from splurging money on cutouts, banners and other paraphernalia associated with electioneering. “True, these elections are less colourful but at least it has prevented waste and pollution,” a volunteer with Election Watch, an NGO, said.

The Election Commission had also summoned the state intelligence head, Jaffer Sait, to Delhi and asked him to proceed to Bengal as observer. When Sait, whose proximity to the Karunanidhi family is widely known, asked why he was being moved out of his state at such a sensitive time, the poll panel officials told him he was perceived to be pro-DMK.