By a strange coincidence, a day after Karunanidhi’s announcement came the news that the CBI, at the behest of the Central Vigilance Commission, had commenced raids on offices of the Department of Tele-communications, headed by Karunanidhi’s trusted lieutenant and family friend, A Raja, the Union Minister for Tele-communications. The CBI was looking for the documentation relating to the allotment of 2G spectrum, which caused loss to the nation to the tune of a whopping Rs 1,00,000 Crore. If the CBI did its job properly, then not only would Raja be dislodged from his post but the funds amassed by the minister could even be traced to Karunanidhi’s household! This could not be allowed! The FAMILY’s fortunes were more important to Karunanidhi than the drinking water and livelihood requirements of some lakhs of families in five districts of Tamil Nadu, who would be affected if a new dam came up on the Mullai Periyar in Kerala.

Overnight Karunanidhi changed tack. The meeting in Madurai would not condemn Jairam Ramesh or the Central Government, he "mewed". Instead, it would be a public meeting to voice his protest against the Government of Kerala for its move to construct a new dam. The donkey had mutated into a cat!

Then came a senior Tamil Nadu Congress leader’s counter. "Why should not the Congress stage a protest meeting about the Spectrum scam when the DMK is protesting against Jairam Ramesh’s clearance for a survey by Kerala for a new dam?" he asked. He obviously knew where it would hurt Karunanidhi the most. And he touched the very spot, sending Karunanidhi scrambling for cover!

And finally came the most damning indictment. Kerala Chief Minister
V.S. Achuthanandan, after a cabinet meeting, briefed the media. "I do not know why Karunanidhi is making all this fuss about the survey for the new dam now. He had already given us his concurrence long ago", he said. The cat was finally out of the bag. Only, it had diminished to the size and shape of an ant!

On the night of October 28, Karunanidhi conveniently remembered that the case relating to the Mullai Periyar issue was being heard by the Supreme Court. He equally conveniently forgot that, a little over a year ago, he had organized a bandh and a protest meeting in Chennai on the Sethusamudram issue, even though the Supreme Court was hearing a case on it. Sethusamudram was a different cup of tea. There was money in it for himself, his family and his trusted ministers. A new dam on the Mullai Periyar only holds suffering for the people of Tamil Nadu. The people could suffer. The Family had to be protected. So, citing the Supreme Court case that has been going on for years, Karunanidhi calls off the public meeting organized in Madurai.

Having been in politics for so many decades, Karunanidhi is shrewd enough to know that his claim that the public meeting was being called off in view of the Supreme Court case will not hold water. That is the reason why he subsequently got admitted into a hospital for a medical check-up. To garner the sympathy that a sick man can get!

Every conceivable cheap drama is being played out. Everything possible is being done to hide the real truth. In the process, the people are being cheated. They are being taken for a ride. They are made to suffer. I had said much earlier that Karunanidhi was lying to the people on the Mullai Periyar issue. I had said that he had bartered away the rights of the people of Tamil Nadu for some personal benefits. The recent developments only confirm what I said. It is now up to the people to decide whether they still need such a wonderful person as their Chief Minister.