Turmoil between Karunanidhi & Vaiko

"The Chief Minister is a liar- Mr.Vaiko"

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by Special Correspondent in Chennai

(January 31, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) General Secretary of one of political parties in Tamil Nadu , the MDMK , Vaiko referring to the Media expose on phone tapping of politicians, police officials and journalists by the state intelligence termed it “fascist” in a media release here on yesterday (30). Calling the denial of the news report by the chief minister in the Assembly “a blatant lie,” Mr.Vaiko said the expose was “only the tip of the iceberg.” Stating that Media in Chennai had mentioned only the phone number of Mr K.S. Radhakrishnan, headquarters secretary of MDMK in its report, Mr Vaiko added that eight phones of MDMK office-bearers were tapped according to a reliable source.

The MDMK chief said censoring letters and tapping phones were a fascist activity. He said it was a continuance of the censorship and surveillance introduced by the colonists. Mr Vaiko pointed out that such acts were no longer prevalent in many democracies. Stating that the atrocious sections of acts such as the Indian Postal Act and Indian Telegraph Act that allow surveillance in the name of national security were used by many state governments to spy on the opposition, Mr.Vaiko said he had sought removal of such clauses during a debate in the Parliament in 1988.

Accusing the DMK-led regime of “unprecedented” level of tapping phones in the name of “national security,” Mr Vaiko said, “it is a very dangerous trend.” Mr Vaiko also accused the chief minister of “being evasive” in his reply to the “phone tapping incident.” He said the US President, Mr Nixon, had to lose his job because of the Watergate scandal in which the phones of the opposition were tapped and exposed by the journalists.

Mr.Vaiko said, “Not only the phones of the opposition, even that of some ministers are tapped,” adding that “only fascists will indulge in such acts.” He demanded an enquiry into the tapping incident by a sitting judge of the High Court. The Media expose created headlines in the vernacular media. A leading Tamil daily Dinamalar quoted by Indian Media expose in detail on Wednesday and said this had stirred up a debate in the political circles in Tamil Nadu State.