Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Arch-rivals trade charges of code violation
By K. Raju

ANDIPATTI, FEB. 16. As the election day approaches, the two arch-rivals in State politics - the ruling AIADMK and the Opposition DMK - have been trading charges of violations of the model code of conduct prescribed by the Election Commission.

After a sober start to its campaign, the AIADMK is now finding it tough to restrain its overenthusiastic cadres from going on a binge. The general secretary, Jayalalithaa, has even expelled a party functionary for issuing an advertisement without her permission.

Senior party leaders took stock of the situation during a break in her campaign yesterday, to ensure that things remained under control in this last lap of electioneering.

The AIADMK has now launched an offensive on code `violations' by the DMK and some of its prominent leaders, notably the Chennai Mayor, M.K. Stalin. It has repeatedly brought to the attention of the election observers and the EC that the DMK men are brazenly going round in a convoy of 30-40 vehicles.

Mr. Stalin was seen during both spells of campaign here with a fleet of vehicles and then a battery of two-wheelers, and thus he invited a lot of attention. His critics have argued that use of these vehicles was not only a challenge to the norms and the AIADMK, but was also to transport ``crowds'' for his visit to wayside villages. The vehicles broke off at points and rejoined the convoy in a different village.

For their part, the DMK and other Opposition parties have also been complaining about implementation of projects and paying of special attention to Andipatti, even during this campaign period, by the Government.

Despite all the dust and bustle, the election observers have been monitoring the entire electoral process from the nomination stage itself and are expected to present a detailed report to the EC.

Local holiday

Meanwhile, the Theni Collector, Atul Anand, has declared a local holiday for February 21 in the areas falling under the Andipatti constituency, under the Negotiable Instruments Act.

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