The story so far: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, in his reply to the debate on the demand for grants to his portfolio of Home in the Assembly on Monday (September 7, 2026), brought back to focus the Sarkaria Commission Inquiry, which went into allegations of corruption against former Chief Minister and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)’s longest-serving president M. Karunanidhi and his Cabinet colleagues of the 1970s. Two reports of the Commission were placed in Parliament during 1977-78.

What was the Sarkaria Commission Inquiry?

Known after its chairperson, Justice (retd.) R.S. Sarkaria, the Commission was constituted by the Union government in February 1976 when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, and the country was in the midst of the Emergency (June 1975-March 1977).

Justice Sarkaria, a judge of the Supreme Court at the time of appointment, was mandated to inquire into 28 allegations of corruption and misuse of power levelled against Karunanidhi and some of his Cabinet colleagues, who were in power in the State during 1969-1976. The constitution of the panel was announced in Parliament on February 3, 1976, three days after the DMK’s Council of Ministers was dismissed by the Union government from office when the DMK regime’s ties with the Central government were at a low ebb. 

The removal was based on the report of the then Governor K.K. Shah, who contended that the DMK government had, “by a series of acts of maladministration, corruption, and misuse of power for achieving partisan ends, set at nought all canons of justice and equity.” For about three years prior to its removal, the DMK regime was mired in controversies over the charges of corruption levelled by the Opposition. 

Who targetted the DMK for corruption in the 1970s?

The Congress (Organisation), shepherded by former Chief Minister K. Kamaraj, had been a bitter critic of the DMK government from the beginning. But, ever since the ruling party’s treasurer M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) exited the DMK over the issue of probity in public life in October 1972, he began increasingly occupying the centrestage and became Karunanidhi’s principal political adversary.

A few weeks after forming the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), MGR submitted a memorandum to Mr. Shah on November 4, 1972, listing certain charges of corruption. This was followed with another memorandum presented by the Communist Party of India’s leader M. Kalyanasundaram, who represented Tiruchi in the Lok Sabha twice, on December 20.

Subsequently, one more petition was given by the AIADMK’s Members of Parliament, “Nanjil” K. Manoharan and G. Viswanathan, who later founded the Vellore Institute of Technology, one of the leading institutions in engineering education. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) was another critic of the DMK government then. 

What were the main charges levelled against Karunanidhi and co?

The allegations pertained to the misuse of an imported tractor, presented to Karunanidhi during his visit to the U.K. in 1971, in his farm in Tiruvarur; undue favours shown by Education Minister V.R. Nedunchezhiyan to a publication firm in which Agriculture Minister Anbil Dharmalingam had interest; acceptance of bribes by Karunanidhi and Anbil Dharmalingam in the award of contracts for the aerial spraying of pesticides; undue favours shown by Industries Minister S. Madhavan in the granting of loan given to the father in law of the DMK’s legislator S. Kandappan; similar charge against Karunanidhi, Madhavan and Revenue Minister P.U. Shanmugam in respect of amendment to the Madras City Tenants Protection Act, 1922 and similar charge against Karunanidhi for giving a brewery licence to his close friend.

The other charges covered the Veeranam project, sugar deals, DMK party and trusts; four lift irrigation schemes and the use of state machinery in favour of DMK trade unions.

Which cases did the Commission find the charges established?

In the case of the contracts for the aerial spraying of pesticides, the panel held that Karunanidhi and Anbil Dharmalingam had received “illegal gratification” of ₹5.75 lakhs from aircraft operators. Other allegations, which were held by the commission as either “wholly or partly substantiated,” related to the showing of undue favours to the publication firm, and the granting of the loan and brewery licence. Others in the allegations were Mr. Nedunchezhiyan, Mr. Madhavan and Mr. Shanmugam. 

About the case concerning the Samayanallur power station, the Commission held the charges of abuse of official position and graft against the then Electricity Minister, O.P. Raman established but found no evidence to show that in receiving the illegal gratification, Mr. Raman acted in concert with Mr. Karunanidhi.

In respect of the Veeranam water supply project case and four others, the panel concluded that the allegations against the Chief Minister and his colleagues were substantiated.

As for the high profile Veeranam case, the Commission stated that Karunanidhi, “abusing his official position as Chief Minister, actuated with the motive to unduly favour” Sathyanarayana Bros, with the award of the contract for the Veeranam project, directed the Chief Engineer Hussain “to tailor his recommendations on the tenders in such a manner as would enable the Government to accept the tender of Sathyanarayana Bros,” The Hindu reported on May 13, 1978, quoting from the panel’s report. 

Describing the decision to entrust the project to the contractor as “undoubtedly a major administrative blunder,”  the panel had even assessed that nearly ₹6 crores was “squandered” over this project and “the responsibility for this must rest squarely on Mr. Karunanidhi and Mr. Sadiq Pasha (then Public Works Minister),” the daily added, ascribing the content to the Commission’s report.  

What happened after the reports were submitted?

The political instability in the country forced realignment of forces. By late 1979, the DMK and the Congress, headed by Indira Gandhi, had become allies. When Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister in January 1980, it was a matter of formality that the cases filed against Mr. Karunanidhi and his colleagues were dropped.  

When did the Sarkaria Commission last figure in the Assembly?

During the debate in the Assembly on the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address to the Hous in May 2001, the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa raised the panel’s findings in the light of the Veeranam project, which her government had decided to revive. She told the House that in her meeting with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, she would indeed raise the subject, The Hindu reported on May 29, 2001.

However, she did not pursue the matter, even though she had argued that the case was not time-barred and that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could revive it if the Centre directed it to do so.

Published – September 08, 2026 12:32 pm IST

The situation faced by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) now is no different from what the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), led by late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, faced in 2006.

The TVK, which contested the recent Assembly polls on its own, secured 108 seats (with Mr. Vijay winning in two seats).

However, 20 years ago, the DMK, which faced the Assembly elections in alliance with the Indian National Congress, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), won only in 96 seats. However, the DMK formed the government with outside support from its allies, even though the Congress, which won 34 seats repeatedly, exerted pressure on the DMK to accommodate its MLAs in the government.

Karunanidhi remained firm in running it as a DMK government because he enjoyed the support of the PMK and the Left parties, whose combined strength was sufficient to cross the halfway mark. But J. Jayalalithaa, then general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Leader of the Opposition, never missed an opportunity to mock it as a “minority DMK government”.

Also read | The last anchor: the legacy of M. Karunanidhi

It was late E. V. K. S. Elangovan, former TNCC president and Union Minister, who was particularly vocal about the need for a coalition government. Long before the 2006 Assembly elections, he had made his views on the issue public.

“Coalitions at the Centre and in many States have become the order of the day, and Tamil Nadu cannot remain an exception for long,” Mr. Elangovan had said when he served as Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry between 2004 and 2009. His argument was that the Dravidian parties could not come to power without the support of the Congress. His prediction eventually came true in 2006.

The argument advanced by Elangovan and other Congress leaders at the time was that the DMK could not deny the Congress a place in the State government while simultaneously enjoying the benefits of a coalition government at the Centre.

The last time Tamil Nadu witnessed a coalition government was in 1952. However, leaders of the Dravidian parties largely steered clear of the idea thereafter. In 1980, the DMK and the Congress arrived at an understanding to contest 50% of the seats each and form a coalition government if voted to power. But the coalition idea was buried deep after the alliance failed to capture power.

Even before the 2006 elections, Karunanidhi surprised both allies and adversaries by saying his party was prepared for coalition rule after the elections. After the results, he said the DMK alliance had received the mandate to form a coalition government. However, he subsequently changed his mind after the PMK, led by Dr. Ramadoss, with its 18 MLAs, offered a letter of unconditional support.

Karunanidhi, who later travelled to Delhi to meet Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, ruled out a coalition government and said the pre-election arrangement — under which the Congress would support the DMK from outside — would continue.

Also read | Karunanidhi and the shaping of the Dravidian movement

His argument was that the DMK was extending unconditional support to the Congress government in Puducherry, and that the Congress, in a similar manner, would support the DMK government in Tamil Nadu.

A senior Congress leader, who was among the party’s MLAs in 2006, said the DMK leadership had succeeded in convincing Ms. Gandhi about the “difficulties in running a coalition government in a State like Tamil Nadu.”

“Karunanidhi and Arcot N. Veerasami (then Minister) told me and another senior MLA to prepare a list of candidates to be accommodated in the coalition government. Mr. Veeraswami even told me that seven chambers were ready for Congress ministers. But it never happened because of the lack of unity among Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu,” the Congress leader recalled.

Congress MLAs, however, continued to raise their voice in favour of a coalition government. Speaking during the motion of thanks to the Governor’s Address, Congress member C. Gnanasekaran, a well-known face in the party, said the coalition model had proved successful at the Centre.

“The coalition form of governance has been catching up in States such as Maharashtra and Kerala. Mr. Karunanidhi should come forward to implement the coalition strategy in Tamil Nadu as well,” he said.

Karunanidhi somehow survived the pressure, partly because of the support extended

by the PMK and partly because of the lack of unity among Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu, as well as the absence of strong backing from the party high command.

But Mr. Vijay may not be able to avoid a coalition government, as the Congress, which was among the first parties to extend support to him, is keen on joining the government. The Congress legislators are expected to be inducted when the Cabinet is expanded, ushering in a new phase in Tamil Nadu politics.

Published – May 20, 2026 06:00 am IST