Swamy seeks Guv nod to prosecute MK

Tamil Nadu chief minister abused his position in allotting plots and houses to officials, judges

In a dramatic development here,  Swamy drove down to Raj Bhavan and gave a petition seeking Barnala’s nod to proceed against the chief minister for alleged “misuse of office” in allotting plots and houses of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) to a host of officials and some  judges of the Madras High Court.

As the governor was unwell, Swamy submitted his petition to his office.

The chief minister had “abused” his position in making allotments under the discretionary quota and the TNHB rules had been violated, Swamy told reporters outside Raj Bhavan.

The beneficiaries include IAS and IPS officers, too. “This appears to be a reward,” Swamy said.

He had sought the governor’s permission to prosecute Karunanidhi under Section 11 and 13 of the “Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).” This is the second chief minister he has sought sanction to prosecute, with J Jayalalithaa being the first in 1992.

 “I have evidence for 23 corruption cases against  Karunanidhi, each of which I require the governor’s permission. This is the first case of land allocation from discretionary quota, where the CM  has misused his office for corrupt motives,” Swamy alleged.

However, in the “2G” spectrum scam, on which he has filed a private complaint in a Special CBI Court in Delhi, Swamy said he did not need sanction to prosecute Karunanidhi as “it is a private deal between him,  A Raja (former telecom minister) and some private telecom companies.”

He also demanded Karunandhi’s resignation and urged Tamil Nadu be brought under the President’s rule until the Assembly elections are over.

Stating that he had not yet received the legal notice reportedly sent  by Karunanidhi’s lawyers on Sunday, Swamy said he was not worried about it.

“Let him (Chief Minister) come to the Special Court  and make his statement,” the Janata Party leader said.

His next course of action will be taken after the Special Court takes up the matter on February 22 to decide whether his private complaint on “2G” scam should be clubbed with the CBI’s FIR or vice-versa.

Meanwhile,  AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha on Monday extended her support to  Swamy’s demand to include Karunanidhi’s name  as  a co-accused in the spectrum case.

There is enough evidence to indicate that the beneficiaries of the scam went beyond A Raja to DMK’s first family members, she alleged.

“Raja is only a pawn. The kingpins have to be brought to book,” she said.

Jayalalitha also urged the UPA government to seek a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the issue.