Privilege issue against Karunanidhi referred to Committee

Tamil Nadu assembly speaker R Avudaiyappan today referred a privilege issue raised by the AIADMK against chief minister M Karunanidhi for his statement on the wealth case against party chief Jayalalithaa to the Privileges Committee.AIADMK deputy leader O Panneerselvam raised the issue but the speaker did not allow him to speak as he was referring thematter to the Privileges Committee after Karunanidhi said he was prepared to give his reply before it.     In a statement last night, Karunanidhi said Jayalalithaa should explain to people why she had adopted delaying tactics in the Rs66 crore disproportionate asset case against her after the Supreme Court dismissed her petition seeking quashing of the case.Jayalalithaa had resorted to the practice of seeking adjournments on one pretext or the other in the case, which had dragged on for 13 years, the chief minister said, adding the delay was "unheard of in legal history."     "Justice can be delayed by making use of legal nuances but justice cannot be averted or cheated permanently. Time will definitely teach this," Karunanidhi said in the statementThe Supreme Court yesterday dismissed Jayalalithaa's plea that the Karnataka High Court had erred while holding that thetrial court order taking cognisance of the complaint on June 5, 1997, did not suffer from any illegality or irregularity.The trial in the disproportionate assets case is to commence in Karnataka.