Senthil Balaji’s arrest mirrors Karunanidhi's 2001 ordeal

Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister Senthil Balaji’s dramatic arrest leading to his hospitalisation amid physical pain is a virtual replay of the way DMK stalwart M Karunanidhi was dragged out of his residence at the dead of night by the Tamil Nadu police 22 long years ago.

In what was a clear case of revenge politics about which she had already spoken publicly more than once, the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa ordered Karunanidhi’s arrest more to humiliate him than because the corruption charges hurled at him warranted such a haughty intervention by the police.

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It was around 2 am on June 30, 2001 when a posse of policemen barged into the former chief minister’s home, dragged him out of his bed and pulled him down 10 stairs without caring for the fact that Karunanidhi was, at age 78, a frail man after all.

The veteran politician was not even allowed to change his clothes. The police had already cut the telephone lines to his residence.

Maran summoned

Even in distress, Karunanidhi did some quick thinking; when he realised what was happening, he quickly picked up his mobile telephone and alerted his senior party colleague Murasoli Maran, who was a minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and who happened to be in Chennai that night.

As he rushed to Karunanidhi’s house, Maran did something Jayalalitha would not have bargained for: he summoned a Sun TV crew. Surprisingly, the police, perhaps thinking they would be shown as heroes, did not prevent the popular news channel’s entry.

As Karunanidhi was dragged down the stairs, one of his rubber sandals came off. Now in pain, Karunanidhi began screaming in visible pain: “Aiyo! Kolai pannarange!” (They are committing murder!) But the men in khaki, knowing they had the government’s backing, showed him no respect as they pulled and shoved the man. His yellow ‘angavastram’ came off in the melee.

Karunanidhi would later say that it was Deputy Inspector General of Police Mohamad Ali who pulled him by his right hand, spraining his shoulder. For days, the DMK leader, one of India’s longest-serving politicians, could not raise his hand.

Shabby treatment

When Maran demanded to see an arrest warrant, the policemen got into a physical scuffle with him, although he was a heart patient. Maran was rushed to the Apollo Hospital where he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Maran was also quickly arrested along with DMK colleague and fellow Union minister TR Baalu – the first instance in the country when two central cabinet ministers were taken into custody.

Karunanidhi’s arrest and the physical abuse triggered a storm across the country. Prime Minister Vajpayee came under intense pressure even from the BJP to sack the Jayalalitha government but he restrained himself. Seeing the mood, Jayalalitha ordered the release of Karunanidhi and others on what she was “humanitarian grounds”.

On his release, Karunanidhi met the media and explained what he endured that night. He said his legs were so swollen that he could not stand up for a few minutes. Before he was taken the prison, Karunanidhi had scribbled hurriedly in a reporter’s diary in Tamil: “Aram vellum” (Justice will prevail).

Stalin – Then and now

Karunanidhi’s son MK Stalin, who was furious about the way his elderly father was treated, later vowed to bring the culprits to book. “Otherwise, our remaining in politics would be a waste,” he thundered. Now the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Stalin again vented his fury against the Modi government after the Enforcement Directorate treated one of his ministers, Senthil Balaji, almost similarly, leaving the latter in visible pain and crying as he was driven away to a hospital where doctors had advised an immediate heart surgery.

In 2001, the BJP was angry over what was done to Karunanidhi; two decades later, the BJP has resorted to the very tactics for which the party vocally denounced AIADMK leader Jayalalitha then.

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