Tamil Nadu Sports Minister and DMK youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday slapped a legal notice on state BJP chief K Annamalai threatening appropriate civil and criminal proceedings against him if he does not tender an “unconditional public” apology within 48 hours for making “defamatory” allegations.
The legal notice sent by P Wilson, DMK MP and a senior lawyer, accused Annamalai of making “defamatory allegations” against Udhayanidhi and Red Giant Production House during the release of DMK Files on April 14.
“Further you have made defamatory allegations knowing full well the same are far from truth besides scandalous and malicious. In such a situation, you are liable to be prosecuted in law for defamation. You are therefore liable to pay compensation for damages suffered by our client to his good name and impeccable reputation,” the notice read.
Apart from an unconditional, public apology by publishing the same prominently in all “national English daily newspapers and regional Tamil newspapers, as well as on social media pages, the legal notice asked the former IPS officer to remove the “offending video” of the press conference and pay damages to the tune of Rs 50 crores.
The notice said Udhayanidhi intends to pay the said amount to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's relief fund. “Within 48 hours of receipt of this notice, failing which our client will be constrained to initiate appropriate civil and criminal proceedings against you and your properties, thereby holding you personally liable for all costs and consequences arising therefrom,” the notice further read.
The legal notice comes days after Annamalai claimed that top guns of DMK and their family members, including those related to Chief Minister M K Stalin, own assets worth Rs 1.32 lakh crore, and asserted that he will expose corruption of all political parties that have ruled the state so far, which includes ally AIADMK as well.
With regard to Udhayanidhi, Annamalai sought to know how did the worth of Red Giant Pictures, owned by the family, rose from a mere Rs 300 crore in 2008 to Rs 2,010 crore in 2023, and alleged that the DMK minister resigned from a company which signed an MoU with Tamil Nadu government in 2022.
This is the second legal notice from the DMK to Annamalai over his allegations, the first one came from Organising Secretary R S Bharathi who demanded Rs 500 crore and an unconditional apology.
To this, Annamalai hit back by seeking Rs 500 crore and one rupee from the ruling party for linking him with the scam-hit Arudhra chit fund.