Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi’s Deaths are Major Poll Planks in First Election Without Dravidian Duo

Yoga78

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posted on 5 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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The DMK has been telling voters that it will launch an inquiry into Jayalalithaa's death if it comes to power, while the AIADMK is blaming DMK leader MK Stalin for the death of Karunanidhi.

Chennai: Even in death, Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi continue to shape the election narrative in Tamil Nadu.

The campaigning for the first big election in Tamil Nadu sans the two Dravidian leaders has revolved around the circumstances of their deaths. While the DMK has raked up Jayalalithaa’s “mysterious” death and promised a probe into it, the AIADMK has off late started blaming MK Stalin for “failing” to ensure proper treatment for his father Karunanidhi.

Even Chief Minister E Palaniswami raked up Karunanidhi's death at a rally. Campaigning in Nilgiris district, the CM said: "Had Karunanidhi been taken abroad for treatment, he would have survived. It was Stalin who kept Karunanidhi under house arrest for two years. No one was allowed to meet him. If he were alive, Stalin wouldn't have become the party leader. So Stalin kept Karunanidhi in the house for two years without giving him proper treatment.”

The Chief Minister also said his government will initiate a probe into Karunanidhi’s death.

"When Karunanidhi was alive, Stalin approached him multiple times to be made the party chief. But Karunanidhi refused to do so and made Stalin the working president of the DMK. Karunanidhi was kept in the house in suspicious conditions. Why wasn't he in a position to talk? The state government will initiate a probe into this," Palaniswami said.

The DMK, on the other hands, has been telling voters that it will launch an inquiry into Jayalalithaa’s death if it comes to power. Alleging “mystery” behind the treatment administered to the then CM during her hospitalisation in 2015, Stalin and his party have been demanding “proper” investigation.

"We did have many differences with Jayalalithaa in terms of ideologies and in the state governance. But beyond that, a sitting Chief Minister passed away. I have been saying this continuously that there is a mystery in her death. We will investigate this and find the ones responsible for the death of Jayalalithaa. They will brought to book and be given stringent punishment. This will be my first action,” Stalin had said at a rally.