Jaya verdict: DMK goes into huddle to rework strategy

With the acquittal of arch rival AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa coming as a reversal for it, DMK top brass on Monday went into a huddle to work on a political and legal strategy following the development.

Politically, the verdict in favour of AIADMK chief is seen as a setback for the DMK as it has been aggressively using the Disproportionate Assets (DA) case and the conviction of Jayalalithaa by a trial court last year to target the ruling party.

With the Assembly polls just a year away, the judgement has stunned the DMK, which is now looking at both legal and political options to take on the ruling party, DMK sources said.

DMK leader K Anbazhagan is also a petitioner in the case.

“Thalaivar (party president) is seized of the whole issue, he will make it known, we cannot say anything more now,” said a senior party leader when asked on party line after Jayalalithaa’s acquittal. Consultations were on with top leaders to fine tune political strategy and holding meetings with legal experts, he said.

Karunanidhi would formally state DMK’s stand on the issue of going for any appeal against the verdict exonerating Jayalalithaa, he added.

For the DMK, which is still battling to ward off the 2G Spectrum scandal tag, the conviction of Jayalalithaa by a trial court last year came like a boon to target the AIADMK with a new found vigour.

Earlier on Monday, the DMK top brass, gathered at the Gopalapuram residence of party chief Karunanidhi here an hour ahead of the ruling to take stock of the situation after the verdict. Senior party leaders MK Stalin, Duraimurugan, and Ponmudi were among those who gathered.

In a statement, Karunanidhi amply made clear his displeasure, quoting appeal court proceedings, and posing some questions and said “this is not the final judgement.” 

DMK leader M K Stalin said his party had been following the case with keen interest along with the rest of the country. “The appeal (by Jayalalithaa against the lower court verdict) was fast tracked in an unprecedented manner and the DMK had to step in at every juncture to try and ensure that this case did not turn out to be a farce. The prosecution was given one day to submit its written argument while the defence was given two months,” he said on his Facebook page.