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Centre should have asked AG to appear in dismissals case: DMK

By Our Staff Reporter

Tirunelveli Aug. 23. The DMK president, M. Karunanidhi, today said the Centre should have asked the Attorney-General to appear before the Supreme Court when a case filed by trade unions against mass dismissal of teachers and government employees, for participating in a strike last month, came up for hearing.

Addressing mediapersons, Mr. Karunanidhi, who was here to attend an election fund-raising meeting, said the DMK wrote to the Centre two letters, seeking appearance by the Attorney-General in court.

"We received only acknowledgements from the Centre, but our request was not fulfilled. Though the AG, after the judgment, expressed the view that going on strike against any administration was one of the democratic rights, it was embarrassing to us as he could not register his view in the court when the case came up for hearing."

Asked why the PMK did not take part in yesterday's Statewide agitation, Mr. Karunanidhi, without giving a direct reply, said the functionaries of the DMK, the CPI, the CPI(M) and the Congress participated, as cases under the Essential Services Maintenance Act were filed against their leaders. The MDMK, after accepting an invitation to take part in the protest, participated.

"I can say only this much at this stage," he said, adding he could not predict anything now whether this understanding would continue for parliamentary elections.

In an apparent reference to the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa's remarks yesterday, he said the DMK Trust had received more than Rs. 40 lakhs, selling his latest literary work, Tholkaappiya Poonga, and the money was being utilised to provide medical care and higher education to the wards of 480 cadres. "After all, they belong to the great family of the DMK," he said proudly.

The DMK chief said there was a slight improvement in the health of the Union Minister, Murasoli Maran, who is undergoing treatment for a heart ailment in a superspeciality hospital in the United States.

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