Chennai, August 18 (BPNS)
Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and senior leader of AIADMK, Edappadi K Palaniswami has alleged that the DMK government is trying to foist false case against him in the sensational Kodanad murder case.
The former Chief Minister who is also the leader of opposition in Tamil Nadu assembly made the allegations just before the house commenced for business on Wednesday. The AIADMK members immediately stood up from their seats and raised a sheet of paper at the Chair that read,“Don’t foist false cases . We condemn this move”. The party members immediately staged a walkout of the assembly.
The alliance partners of the AIADMK, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), and the BJP also raised the issue in the house. The PMK floor leader G.K. Mani said that the government was trying to practice vendetta politics and walked out of the house along with his party legislators.
BJP floor leader Nainar Nagendran while staging a walkout in the assembly said that the government was creating unnecessary fear.
The Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said that bringing out the truth in the Kodanad murder cum robbery case was an electoral promise of the DMK. He said that the DMK government was acting on the orders of the court and there is no political vendetta or motive behind this.
He also said that the government would establish the law of the land and bring the culprits to book. Taking a dig at the opposition he used a Tamil adage, “Madiyil Kanam Irundhal Thaan Vazhiyil Payam Irikkum”.
(Only those who have committed wrong need fear).
However Palaniswami while speaking to reporters after staging the walkout said that the DMK government was taking political vendetta against him and said that the case is being reinvestigated in a bid to frame him.
The opposition leader accused that some of the DMK affiliated advocates are appearing on behalf of the accused in the case and that some of the lawyers who had earlier appeared for the murder accused in the case are now Government pleaders.
The AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister also said that this shows that the DMK led government has ulterior motives and that they were trying to frame him in the murder case.
The senior leader also said that the DMK is trying to influence one of the accused in the case and thereby foist false charges on him and trying to finish the AIADMK. Palaniswami said that the AIADMK could not be cowed down by such cheap political tactics of the DMK.
The infamous Kodanadu murder case took place on April 23, 2017, when a security guard at the 800-acre Kodanadu estate property of former Chief Minister, J. Jayalalithaa was murdered by a 10 member gang in a robbery bid. The murdered guard, Om Bahadur was standing security at gate no 10 of the estate.
He was found hanging upside down from a tree with this throat slit. Another guard, Krishna Bahadur who was manning gate no 8 was found assaulted and sedated but he escaped.
The Nilgiris police had on Monday issued a fresh summons to the main accused K.V. Sayan and had grilled him for hours. This led to the apprehension that the government was using the police to frame the AIADMK leader.
A documentary produced by Journalist and former Editor of Tehelka, Mathew Samuel in 2017 has alleged that the former Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami was behind the robbery attempt and subsequent murder of the security guard at Kodanad estate. The opposition DMK had then raised a major hue and cry within and outside the assembly on the same demanding the resignation of Edappadi.
The AIADMK legislators squatted outside the assembly hall and later former Chief Minister and party coordinator, O. Panneerselvam announced that the party would boycott the assembly on Thursday also on the Kodanad murder issue.
