G Palanivel's detractors have continued to drag in his wife into the current imbroglio despite the MIC president asking them "not to stoop to that level".

Dismissing Palanivel's claim that his wife R Kanagam did not meddle in party affairs, his former ally turned arch nemesis R Ramanan alleged otherwise.

He claimed to have received instructions from the president's wife with regard to discharging his duties when holding the treasurer-general post and his tenure as a central working committee (CWC) member.

Ramanan, who admitted that he was "blindly loyal" to Palanivel before turning into one of the latter's fiercest critics, said that he had to take orders from both Palanivel and Kanagam.

He had previously labelled Kanagam as the "real president" of the party.

"My loyalty was blind. Whatever instructions my leader gave me, I carried them out.

"And I took instructions from two people - the 'president' and 'her husband'," he added sarcastically.

Alleged interference

He also cast aspersions on Kanagam's presence during the MIC elections last year and her alleged interference in the entire process.

"What was she doing in the election building. Why was she there during the elections?" Ramanan asked.

 

He said that a close associate of Kanagam was also selected as one of the vote counting agents when the ballots were being counted, and Ramanan had witnessed this himself as he was present in the room.

 

"The question is: how did she get the tag to enter the room and count the ballots?" he asked.

 

"That is a question we must ask the Election Commission chairperson: who is Palanivel," he added.

 

He also said that Kanagam had distributed the president's preferred winner's list during the elections to several delegates.

 

"I asked them where this list came from - and they said it was from Kanagam," he said.

 

Ramanan also alleged that on the night before the elections, the ballots were not in the MIC headquarters, but was held by senator V Subramaniam, a close ally of Palanivel who recently accompanied the latter to meet the Registrar of Societies (ROS).

 

"The senator had asked for the ballots and took them with him. When my source asked him why, he said those were orders from her (Kanagam)," he said.

 

Today's press conference was the second in a series of nine promised, as part of Ramanan's "tell-all" about MIC and Palanivel.

 

He stressed that his claims are backed up by facts and that he has other individuals willing to step forward and back his story up.

 

"If they challenge me, then I will bring this people. And trust me, they are willing to come forward," he said.

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