DMK patriarch Karunanidhi defends new secretariat

Defending his decision to build a new secretariat building, DMK leader Muthuvel Karunanidhi has said that the old complex (Fort Saint George) reeked of colonialism and imperialism.

Addressing the people of his constituency Thiruvarur, Karunanidhi said the new secretariat was built as the old one was built by the British and was a symbol of slavery.

He said many people had asked him to go in for a new secretariat so that the last vestige of the British rule could be erased. It is for the first time Karunanidhi has given a new twist to the reasons for the construction of the new secretariat.

The civil works of the building which cost the exchequer Rs1200 are yet to be completed. The new secretariat was inaugurated by prime minister Manmohan Singh in the presence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi on March 13, 2010. Interestingly, no mention was made about the British built Fort Saint George by PM, the Congress president or Karunanidhi during the inaugural function of the Secretariat.  

As soon as his arch rival and AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa took over, she shifted the secretariat to the Fort Saint George.

The Jayalalithaa government has decided to probe the irregularities associated with the building by a retired High Court judge.

Political observers in Chennai say Karunanidhi could be trying to pre-empt the new government’s decision to appoint a retired judge to probe the irregularities associated with the construction of the new Secretariat cum Legislature Complex.