DMK Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi has fired back at AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS), asserting that she has “proved my innocence in court” and was legally acquitted in the 2G‑related case he reportedly cited while warning that she could “go to prison again.” Speaking at an election rally in Tiruchuli, Kanimozhi dismissed EPS’s remarks as personal attacks, stressed that she is “without any guilt,” and used the exchange to highlight what she calls a pattern of political vendetta and neglect of Tamil Nadu by the Opposition‑led NDA.
I was legally acquitted in a fake case
Kanimozhi recalled that a case was filed against her, widely associated with the 2G‑scam saga, but she fought it out and was ultimately acquitted by the trial court, with no fresh conviction entered against her. She insisted that the case against her was “fake,” that she proved her innocence, and that only a higher‑court appeal remains, not a fresh criminal liability.
At the Tiruchuli event, she said she would not be intimidated by EPS’s prison‑related taunts, asserting that she carries the legacy of her father, former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who repeatedly defeated such political adversaries in the past. She also pointedly reminded EPS that he, too, has legal cases against him, implicitly turning the focus back on his own record rather than hers.
Campaign‑season attacks and state‑neglect angle
In parallel speeches across districts, Kanimozhi has been using EPS’s comments as a springboard to accuse the AIADMK‑BJP‑led NDA of “neglecting Tamil Nadu” and of using personal attacks to cover up a failure to secure funds or development projects for the state. She alleges that Palaniswami has both betrayed his own seniors in the AIADMK and let down Tamil Nadu’s people by purportedly pushing the BJP’s national agenda instead of fighting for the state’s interests.
For the DMK, this feisty exchange is framed as a clash between an “old‑guard leader” (Kanimozhi, wrapped in a long‑serving party‑dynasty image) and a “turncoat Opposition chief” (EPS, accused of shifting allegiances to the BJP), with the courtroom‑acquittal narrative giving her a legal‑as‑well‑as‑moral high ground. As the April 23 Assembly elections approach, campaigners are expected to keep recycling the “proven‑innocence‑in‑court” line to neutralise any lingering stigma around the 2G‑related frame and reinforce the idea that EPS is resorting to ad‑hominem theatrics because he has nothing substantive on her record.
–Samuthiran
