Chennai: AIADMK’s advocate wing secretary and Rajya Sabha MP I S Inbadurai submitted a formal petition to Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday, demanding that chief minister M K Stalin’s candidature for the upcoming state assembly election be declared invalid, citing the alleged “misuse of govt machinery for electoral gains”.After petitioning chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and TN chief electoral officer Archana Patnaik, Inbadurai told reporters in Chennai, “If a govt employee is engaged in election work for CM, the election itself is invalid. This is the legal position, and it is the responsibility of ECI to probe the matter and take appropriate action.” He cited the Allahabad high court verdict on June 12, 1975, which declared then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s election in the 1971 Rae Bareli Lok Sabha polls void for “engaging a govt employee Yashpal Kapur in election-related work”. Recalling the verdict, Inbadurai said, “What happened to Indira Gandhi is going to happen to Stalin even if he is elected in the April 23 election.” He demanded action against officials attached to the department of information and public relations (DIPR) for “aiding” CM’s campaign and “disseminating information regarding campaigns to media houses”.
