Why is Stalin gloating over AIADMK MLA ‘sting video’?
DMK working president MK Stalin has once again become hyper enthusiastic, almost reaching “Super Sayan” state after a so-called “sting video” of an AIADMK MLA speaking about how he was offered money to vote for Sasikala's team has got leaked.
Stalin along with his force took up the matter in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, only to be snubbed by Speaker Dhanapal. Yet the question remains as to why Stalin is showing such interest in this sting operation when he had much better and golden opportunities before to create havoc.
He could definitely have made a big deal about the IT raids at Tamil Nadu's chief secretary Rama Mohana Rao's house, or about how the state government poorly handled the Cyclone Vardaah devastation, or the IT raids at health minister Vijayabhaskar's house, but to many political pundits' astonishment, the DMK didn't handle any of the opportunities in the right way.
Yet now, Stalin has decided to take this MLA horse-trading matter and decided to get to the bottom of it.
There is also some interesting fact about the AIADMK MLA who was literally “stung” by those tapes. Madurai MLA SS Saravanan was the chap who got entangled in the operation. An hour-long video shows him speak about all the developments that occurred at Kuvathur during his time in the resort back in February.
The MLA is seen talking in a laid-back condition to a person from a private channel and supposedly divulging information. The interesting part is that Saravanan had already made a revelation earlier by stating that he escaped from Kuvathur by jumping over a compound wall when Sasikala was entering the resort.
Unfortunately, his own men denied the claim and explained that Saravanan left the resort after seeking appropriate permission from the Sasikala camp and made such revelations only to spice up the story. A personal visit to Kuvathur also proved that it would have been extremely difficult to dodge the hundreds of private guards and police swarming around the resort and jump over a 6-ft compound wall.
Saravanan interestingly narrated the story about how the offered money jumped from Rs 2 crore to Rs 4 crore and then to Rs 6 crore. The poor MLA had no idea about how his tattling was getting recorded. Carrying this copy as evidence, Stalin wanted a discussion in the Assembly which was readily denied by the Speaker.
On the first day of the budget discussion, Stalin had raised the issue and asked for a debate. Speaker Dhanapal stated that as DMK's case on foul play in the “vote of confidence” was in court, he couldn’t allow a discussion and asked for material evidence. Stalin and other DMK leaders were evicted following a ruckus.
On the second day, Stalin raised the issue but got no as an answer so he held a “walkout”. On day three, he brought in a copy of the “sting op” and asked for a discussion but was denied again. The next day, Stalin went and met the governor, gave him a copy and pleaded for a CBI probe and presumably another “vote of confidence” motion in the Assembly.
Strangely, the video and the “sting op” itself had come under the scanner as many questions were raised about the veracity of the tapes. It is habitual for journalists and political leaders to have such conversations which are often considered “off the record”, unless any incriminating evidence is acquired to break the story. There is also another claim of how the “sting-op” video was almost auctioned before it was picked up by a national channel. Yet it is an absolute surprise that Stalin's team missed all this.
Legal authorities have confirmed that the video can't be taken as prima facie evidence though a probe can be ordered based on it. But looking at the way the Tamil Nadu government has not intimated any probe so far in any relevant matter, this case might also sink into the depths of the river Cooum.
The last rebuttal to Stalin's case was given by none other than minister Sellur Raju who brought in the audio conversations of the Nira Radia tapes and the DMK has no reply.
Hence, it could be rightly predicted that Stalin should opt for better issues to challenge the government or better “sting-op” videos to topple it with.