Karunanidhi inciting casteist outfits: PMK

By T. Ramakrishnan

CHENNAI, APRIL 18. The PMK founder, Dr. S. Ramadoss, today charged the DMK president and Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, with inciting casteist outfits merely for the sake of fetching votes.

Mr. Karunanidhi had been claiming that he was always for establishing a casteless society as advocated by E.V. Ramasamy Naicker but his performance was miserable. ``For him, only votes matter and nothing else,'' Dr. Ramadoss observed, addressing a meeting here to canvass for his party in the Saidapet Assembly constituency.

Contending that the casteist parties roped in by the DMK stood for violence, the PMK leader said Mr. Karunanidhi had been encouraging ``rowdy gangs.'' While one of the parties was responsible for persistent disturbances in southern districts some years ago, another indulged in arson in Cuddalore and Villupuram districts.

By accommodating one after another in his front, the DMK leader was seeking to accord them political recognition. ``After the elections, these parties will create more problems,'' he remarked.

Rebutting Mr. Karunanidhi's contention that the PMK started off as a caste party, he said since its inception in 1989, the PMK had a rule that members from Dalits and minorities would be provided with senior positions in the party hierarchy. ``We had made a Dalit the party general secretary, though there were candidates available from the Vanniya community,'' Dr. Ramadoss said, adding his organisation had conducted 14 conferences to promote communal and social harmony even when there were no elections round the corner.

Faulting the DMK Government on many counts, the PMK leader said it failed to provide even basic amenities to the people. Its record in promotion of Tamil, supply of protected water to the ruralfolk, and road construction was dismal.

As for the civic conditions in Chennai, Dr. Ramadoss said there was no marked improvement in the city's profile in the last five years. The Marina beach, once considered a beautiful landmark, now looked like a garbage dumping yard. Women were the worst hit due to water scarcity. ``I do not know how to call Chennai - Singara Chennai (beautiful Chennai) or Seerazhiyum Chennai (decaying Chennai).''

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