Hitting back at CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat for allegedly calling DMK a “family controlled party”, chief minister M. Karunanidhi on Thursday sought to turn the tables on the Communist leader, reminding him that his wife is working with him in their party.
“He (Karat) has described DMK as Kudumba Munnetra Kazhagam (family development party). Ms Brinda Karat, who works along with him, is the answer for this charge,” Mr Karunanidhi said, without elaborating.
Writing in the DMK mouthpiece Murasoli, Mr Karunanidhi rued that Mr Karat was ignorant of the “good words” spoken by CPI-M veteran, late E.M.S. Namboodiripad about the Dravidian party.
The DMK patriarch’s caustic reply came in response to Mr Karat’s reported comments in CPI-M’s mouthpiece Thekkathir, (Tamil) that DMK, “known for voicing its views on Central-state relations and state autonomy, has been relegated to a family-controlled party, with the money looted by it used in elections to retain power.” Mr Karunanidhi in his article recalled the many visits of Ms Karat to his house a few years ago, especially at the height of Indo-US nuclear agreement over which the Congress and its then ally Left were divided. “I don’t know why Karat, a friend who found place in my heart, is spreading canards,” he said.
—PTI