Irked Saidai Duraisamy taunts M K Stalin over alleged Sekar Reddy links

CHENNAI: Threatening to file a defamation suit against DMK working president M K Stalin, former city mayor Saidai S Duraisamy on Wednesday alleged business links between tainted contractor and sand mining

baron J Sekar Reddy

and the production company owned by Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin.

Speaking to reporters from his Saidapet residence, Duraisamy said that Stalin had been making false statements to media about income tax raiding his house. “He must apologise for spreading lies. I wrote him three letters warning him to desist making defamatory remarks about me,” Duraisamy said.

After the I-T department conducted searches at properties associated with jailed former general secretary of AIADMK V K Sasikala,

Stalin

, earlier this month, remarked that nothing had transpired out of previous I-T raids. Stalin mentioned that I-T department had raided Duraisamy’s house (an incorrect remark as the department had raided properties belonging to Duraisamy’s son, Vetri Duraisamy, and not the former mayor).

Asserting that he will file a defamation suit, Duraisamy said that he has been forced to “expose corruption complaints” about Stalin due to the latter’s actions. “Are there not links between Stalin’s family and Sekar Reddy? What is the connection between Red Giant Movies and Reddy?” Duraisamy said.

Duraisamy then alleged that Stalin met with 2G scam co-accused, Shahid Usman Balwa, promoter of Swan Telecom, and had negotiated a Rs 200-crore deal. “Did (Stalin) not meet (Shahid) Balwa twice and discuss handing over Rs 200 crore for Kalaignar TV?” he said, asking Stalin if he would want a CBI investigation into Sadiq Batcha’s death.

Batcha, who was an accused in the 2G scam, was a key aide to former Union telecom minister A Raja, the prime accused in the scam. In May 2011, Batcha was found dead at his residence in what the CBI later said was a case of suicide.

“Batcha had provided evidence of Stalin’s meeting with Balwa to the CBI,” Duraisamy said.

Duraisamy, who is fighting a case against Stalin in the Supreme Court over the declaration of results in the 2011 assembly election when he contested against Stalin from the Kolathur constituency and lost, alleged that Udhayanidhi and Stalin’s estranged elder brother and former Union minister, M K Alagiri, had evaded paying import duties on a Rs 22-crore Hummer car.

“Is it not true that the CBI raided the properties of Udhayanidhi and Alagiri’s farm house in this regard? How did Udhayanidhi gain possession of the car? Stalin calls himself the son of Manuneethi Chozhan. Will he ask the CBI to expedite investigation on the tax evasion case against his son Udhayanidhi?” Duraisamy said.


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