DMK knocks on CEC door with plea to bar AIADMK

Reiterating that “Free and fair election has become a myth in the state of Tamil Nadu,” DMK MPs TKS Elangovan, RS Bharati and Tiruchy Siva, in their petition, said that money has been distributed in the entire constituency in support of Madhusudhanan and hence he must be disqualified forthwith. “Otherwise, conducting the election would be ridiculous in the eyes of the public,” the petition added.

The principal opposition party alleged that the state was witnessing large-scale money distribution by ruling AIADMK to voters to the tune of more than Rs 100 crore for a by-election to a single Assembly constituency, which had never happened in the history of Indian democracy.

Accusing the ruling AIADMK of completing almost 80 per cent of illegal money distribution in the constituency at the rate of Rs 6,000 per vote, the DMK Parliamentarians said there was no diligence and sincere discharge of duty on the part of the police and the Election Commission officials posted there.

Listing out various complaints the party had submitted with the EC and the instances when they had stopped the ruling AIADMK while distributing cash, the DMK blamed the state police with preventing their party cadres from even standing on the streets during campaign, while making all arrangements to enable the ruling AIADMK party to distribute money to the voters in many ways. “They started the full-fledged payment of cash for vote in the afternoon of December 16, 2017, and it continues, despite protests by our cadre and public,” the DMK petition said.

The party’s working president MK Stalin on Monday said that the EC should be above suspicion, urging the commission to disqualify Madhusudhanan.