The Principal District and Sessions Court has directed DMK president M.K. Stalin and former TNCC president E.V.K.S. Elangovan to appear before it next month in connection with separate complaints lodged against them alleging that they had made defamatory remarks against the State government and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami.

The complaints against Mr. Stalin and Mr. Elangovan were lodged by the Public Prosecutor on behalf of the government.

The complaint against Mr. Stalin was that he had made derogatory remarks against the AIADMK government and the Chief Minister on September 3 last year while speaking to the media at Mukkombu near Tiruchi, where he had gone to inspect a damaged portion of an old regulator across the Coleroon.

Mr. Stalin had blamed the State government for the collapse of the regulator. “The structure had come down due to the abrupt release of water. The CM ought to have resigned, owning moral responsibility,” he had said.

Graft charge

He had also accused the State government of having been unresponsive to the DMK’s demand to spell out details of the desilting of canals and the amount spent on the exercise, besides alleging corruption to the tune of ₹5,000 crore.

A complaint was lodged by the Public Prosecutor with the Principal District and Sessions Court, which directed Mr. Stalin to appear before it on February 13.

The complaint against Mr. Elangovan was that he had alleged that commission was paid for the award of desilting projects. He had made this claim while addressing mediapersons in August last year.

The court directed Mr. Elangovan to appear before it on February 12, prosecution sources said.