Chennai: The war of words between the main Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the fledgling Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam intensified today, with the DMK mouthpiece Murasoli carrying a stinging article, taking a dig at AMMK founder T T V Dhinakaran.
The half-page satirical piece, titled Gudhikkathey Goorkha, besides coming down heavily on Dhinakaran for criticising the DMK, also issued a warning that a probe into former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s death will be ordered after the DMK returned to power, and Dhinakaran and his relatives, no matter whether they are in Kerala or Karnataka, will be grilled.
“Visaranai aduppu moottappattaal ayirai meen ennavagum enbadhu appodhu theriyum” (What will happen to ayirai fish will be known if the probe stove is ignited) said the article, which also carried a cartoon that depicted Dhinakaran as the watchman of Poes Garden.
Giving a sobriquet ‘Tooth Paste Azhagan’ to Dhinakaran, the article claimed that Jayalalithaa had threatened to finish him off in an ‘encounter’ if she saw him in Chennai. “Dhinakaran was driven off from Poes Garden and was made to shuttle between Mumbai, Chennai and Puducherry for 10 years,” it said, and added that he was trying to call the shots after Jayalalithaa died and Sasikala went to jail.
Murasoli said the ‘Gokulathu Azhagan’ (another title for Dhinakaran) is still ‘outside’ only because verdicts are yet to be given on cases against him.
Sources in the DMK say Murasoli was forced to react like this since Dhinakaran was lately going overboard in his criticism of the DMK and was personally targetting party president M K Stalin and late supremo M Karunanidhi.
“Even for the cancellation of the Tiruvarur by-election, he hit out at the DMK more than the AIADMK. His personal remarks against Kalaignar and Thalapathy were intolerable,” they said.
However, AMMK circles said Dhinakaran knew how to criticise even his bitter rivals and never used unparliamentary language.
All is not well between the grand old party and the new outfit ever since former minister V Senthil Balaji left the Dhinakaran camp and returned to the DMK.