DMK president M.K. Stalin on Monday countered the accusation of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami that DMK lawyers appeared for Sayan and Manoj, accused in the Kodanad heist, saying it was the duty of advocates to appear for any accused person.
"The Chief Minister is speaking as if he has discovered a great truth. It is the duty of the advocates to appear on behalf of accused in cases. Can we say that the lawyers have links with the accused?" Mr. Stalin said in a statement.
He said the objective of the advocates was to prevent what happened to Kanagaraj (who died in a road accident), the driver of Jayalalithaa, from happening to Sayan and Manoj.
"Protecting them is a legal obligation. There is nothing wrong in it. They are helping them only in the court," he said. Mr. Stalin said though Mr. Palaniswami had claimed he was afraid of no one, he had resorted to the “cowardly act” of intimidating media houses.
"There are reports that cable wires were snapped. Nothing can be more demeaning than this. Why should he be afraid of the media if he is honest? We have already submitted a memorandum of allegations against the Chief Minister to the Governor. But we do not know whether he is looking into them,” he said.
The DMK leader said the Chief Minister's speeches proved that he was directly involved in the incident and could not continue in his post.