‘Not the final verdict’, says Karuna on Jaya case

Chennai:  With Karnataka High Court acquitting his arch rival and AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa in a graft case, DMK President M Karunanidhi on Monday said this was “not the final verdict.”
“What has been pronounced today is not the final verdict. I would like to remind one and all about Mahatma Gandhi’s saying there is a court above all courts and that is conscience,” he said in a statement.
Recalling Justice Kumaraswamy’s queries to AIADMK counsel during one of the hearings, Karunanidhi said that he had asked them to clarify on various findings made by the lower court judge and that they should counter each of those ‘knots’ with proper proof.
“Have the knots mentioned by Justice Kumaraswamy untied now,” he asked. Further, on Jayalalithaa’s contention that it was a “politically motivated case” the judge had told her counsel that the charge had been made repeatedly, and only orally, and asked them where was the proof for this, the DMK chief said.
Often critical of the ruling AIADMK, the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit on Monday greeted its chief Jayalalithaa upon her acquittal in the disproportionate assets case.
“Court verdict has been delivered… I wish to greet (Jayalalithaa) in winning the case,” said BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit President, Tamizhisai Sounderrajan.
That the case went on for a long time, with a “strong sentence” awarded by a Bengaluru special court which was followed by Jayalalithaa coming out on bail and finally being acquitted, has led to a “deep insight”, she said in a statement. “As far as I am concerned, People’s Chief Minister has got a big relief with the grace of God.
Jayalalithaa should ensure that the people of Tamil Nadu get that relief,” Sounderrajan said. Pointing at various allegations of corruption in the state, she called for steps for dealing with them and said that people should not be denied the benefit of welfare services.
“I wish to clarify to the people that there is no interference from BJP in not only this case, but any other case,” she said without, however, elaborating.
CPI (M) today demanded that the Karnataka government move the Supreme Court against AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa’s acquittal in a grafts case in the High Court.
“This is not a final verdict. In this background Karnataka government should appeal in the Supreme Court against Jayalalithaa’s acquittal,” CPI (M) state secretary G Ramakrishnan said in a statement.
PMK founder S Ramadoss said Jayalalithaa’s acquittal was a “loss to democracy and justice”.
He said there was widespread opinion that Special Public Posecutor G Bhawani Singh, appointed by the Karnataka government, “had not argued against Jayalalithaa but for her”. (PTI)