Nachiappan said when he handed over the constituency to Chidambaram in 2004, Chidambaram managed to win the election with over 1.50 lakhs votes majority, and that Chidambaram himself spoiled the Congress bastion with his poor performance by having a narrow escape in 2009 Lok Sabha polls. (Source: File)A day after former union minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram was declared as the Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Sivaganga constituency, former MP Sudarsana Natchiappan accused the senior leader of sabotaging the party and its fight against corruption.
Raising doubts over Karti’s candidature, Natchiappan questioned the logic behind the decision and asked on what grounds Karti was given the seat beside support from his father.
Talking to The Indian Express, Natchiappan said he is still hopeful that Congress leadership will review the decision before the last date for filing nominations. “Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president (K S Alagiri) is P Chidambaram’s man. He delayed signing my name. Chidambaram played a game to ensure a seat for his son. By committing a fraud upon Congress party, Karti’s seat was ensured. If the court is saying that the central agency probing on Karti is free to act on its own, Chidambaram has ensured that his daughter in law (Srinidhi, Karti’s wife, who is a dancer) will get the seat,” Natchiappan said.
Entire Chidambaram family will be isolated with Karti’s defeat in this election,” Natchiappan said, hoping that Congress high command will review the decision by Monday evening. (Source: File)“By doing this, Chidambaram was sabotaging the party and its fights against corruption under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. He wants to demolish Rahul’s campaign. People hate this family in Tamil Nadu,” said Natchiappan, who defeated H Raja in Sivaganga in 1999.
Natchiappan said when he handed over the constituency to Chidambaram in 2004, Chidambaram managed to win the election with over 1.50 lakhs votes majority, and that Chidambaram himself spoiled the Congress bastion with his poor performance by having a narrow escape in 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
“In 2014, Chidambaram was afraid to contest. So he deputed his son and he was the fourth runner up, behind BJP, losing deposit. That is going to repeat again. Any Congress candidate can defeat Raja except Karti who is facing corruption charges,” Natchiappan said.
When asked about the possible impact of his public statements in the election, Natchiappan said he was bound to say these as Congress has a larger mission in this election. “The party is protected. None of the leaders from Tamil Nadu will raise this issue now as we have a larger cause of defeating BJP in the election. I speak out because Congress will be losing a seat in Sivaganga if Karti is the candidate.
Entire Chidambaram family will be isolated with Karti’s defeat in this election,” Natchiappan said, hoping that Congress high command will review the decision by Monday evening.
Both Karti and TNCC president Alagiri were not available for comments.
