Graft allegations: DMK hits back at Annamalai with ₹500 cr legal notice

CHENNAI: The ruling DMK party on Sunday issued a legal notice to State BJP chief K Annamalai over his "defamatory" and "baseless" graft allegations against the party, its president M K Stalin, and demanding an unconditional apology and damages to the tune of Rs 500 crore.

DMK's organising secretary R S Bharathi, in the legal notice, said Annamalai in a recent press conference on April 14 in his party office played a 15 minutes video clipping titled 'DMK Files' with an intention to defame the DMK party and its leaders. The video was loaded with "baseless, defamatory, imaginary and scandalous allegations".

Annamalai, in the press conference, charged that the CM, his family members and the top ministers' amassed wealth to the tune of Rs 1.34 lakh crore and the growth was exponential. He also charged that the CM took a bribe of Rs 200 crore to favour the multi crore phase I of the Chennai Metro Rail project during the previous DMK regime (2006-2011).

Referring to Annamalai's "Rs 200 crore" graft charge against Stalin, the notice said, "the DMK President has not received a single paise as illegal gratification from any person throughout his 56 years of public life."Countering each and every allegation levelled by Annamalai in the 10 page notice, Bharathi demanded Annamalai to take down the video that was found on his facebook page and other social media platforms.The BJP leader was asked to "pay damages to the tune of Rs 500 crore to our client (Stalin), which our client intends to pay over to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's relief fund." These should be done within 48 hours of "receipt of this notice, failing which our client will be constrained to initiate appropriate civil and criminal proceedings against you and your properties, holding you personally liable for all costs and consequences arising therefrom, " Bharathi further said in the notice.