Swamy seeks governor’s nod to prosecute Karuna

A day after chief minister M Karunanidhi sent a legal notice to Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy for alleging that he was a beneficiary in the 2G spectrum scam, Swamy went on the offensive by seeking permission from governor Surjit Singh Barnala to prosecute Karunanidhi for allegedly allotting land to a "favoured few" under the government's discretionary quota (GDQ) in "violation" of rules.


Speaking to reporters on Monday after submitting his petition at the governor's office (he could not meet Barnala), Swamy said, "He (Karunanidhi) has violated every rule and allotted land to a favoured few."

Swamy claimed he had enough evidence to prove the charges and that he had sought permission from the governor to approach a special court to file criminal cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the CM and others.

This is the second time Swamy has sought sanction to prosecute a Tamil Nadu chief minister. In 1995, he had sought and got sanction from governor M Channa Reddy to prosecute then chief minister J Jayalalithaa in the TANSI (Tamil Nadu Small Industries) land case. In a turn of events, Jayalalithaa on Monday backed Swamy's petition against Karunanidhi.

The charges levelled by Swamy relate to reports carried in TOI in December 2010 exposing irregularities in the allocation of Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) apartments and plots under GDQ over the past three decades during various regimes. Acting on the reports, the DMK government scrapped the GDQ system in January.

Reacting to Swamy's petition, DMK spokesperson and north Chennai MP TKS Elangovan said, "The opposition parties are desperate to capture power and that is the reason they are indulging in such acts. It is not a serious issue."

Swamy's petition, a copy of which is with TOI, charged that many GDQ allotments amounted to misuse and abuse of powers vested in the authorities and hence the allotments should be cancelled.

Many allottees were ineligible to apply for housing board plots or flats as they had houses either in their own or spouses' names elsewhere in the state when they submitted applications to the TNHB. Distribution of largesse in the guise of "exercise of discretion" by public authorities without following any norms amounts to malicious abuse of power, he said. The CM was punishable under Sections 11 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Swamy listed out several instances of flawed GDQ allocations in his letter. They include serving and retired IAS officials like G Prakash and C K Gariyali, former regional passport officer Sumathi Ravichandran, state intelligence chief Jaffar Sait, some security officials attached to the chief minister, and relatives of several ministers and MLAs.

Asked about Karunanidhi's legal notice to him, Swamy said he had not received it yet. "I have not received any legal notice. What is there for issuing a notice? Let him go to court. He is sending legal notices only to terrorise the media," he said.