And in a dig at Jayalalitha, he says, “I have never bought any big houses, farms or estates except the humble streethouse in Gopalapuram (for Rs 45,000 in 1955 which he has donated to a trust in his mother’s name for conversion to a hospital after his and his wife’s lifetime). I did not encroach on government lands nor did I get state property at cheap prices.” So, he has approximately 5.66 crores in fixed deposits and Rs 35.90 lakh in his savings bank. Of the Rs 100 crore he got from the Marans for selling his shares in Sun TV, he gave most of it to his children. He kept Rs 10 crore of which Rs 5 crore was given to a trust that underwrites public causes like medical and education fees and support to indigent writers. “I am pained that some journalists believe the defamatory statements of the opposition leader that I am a wealthy man,” he says. Go figure.
A dry run
The DMK union (Labour Progressive Front) may have won the election to transport corporations, but the takeaway from the election – apart from the widespread disruption that took place on polling day as drivers and conductors stayed away from work with impunity while commuters walked home – was that Vijayakanth made the first ever overture to AIADMK’s Jayalalitha. His union dramatically withdrew with three days to go for the polls and supported the AIADMK’s union. The LPF won the largest number of votes and despite Jayalalitha’s call to transport employees to vote for the Anna Thozhirsanga Peravai(ATP), the AIADMK’s union came third.