Himalayan defeat for Election Commission, says MK Stalin

Chennai: DMK working president M.K. Stalin on Sunday termed the RK Nagar by-poll, whose result saw his party nominee forfeiting his deposit, as a “Himalayan defeat” for the Election Commission, which he accused of “failing miserably” to control the sea of money that flowed in the constituency.

In a statement, Mr Stalin congratulated party nominee N. Marudhu Ganesh for polling more than 24,000 votes even in the “sea of money” that flooded RK Nagar. The Leader of Opposition said the rival groups distributed anywhere between Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000 for each vote in the constituency that voted on December 21. He said the number of votes polled for DMK shows people’s unshakeable confidence on democratic process.

“More than calling the results as a defeat for the DMK, it would be apt if we call this as Himalayan defeat for the Election Commission. The EC, despite possessing sky-high powers, chose to be a mere mute spectator rather acting against those who erred”, Mr Stalin said in a statement.

“Everyone should ponder whether such a situation would save democracy,” Stalin said, accusing the TTV camp of distributing money on the lines of “hawala transaction” though he did not name the AIADMK rebel directly.

Listing out the steps that the DMK took to make the elections “free and fair,” Mr Stalin alleged that the Election Commission stood like a rock behind the ruling party.