CHENNAI: Taking a trip down the memory lane, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday said the DMK would never forget the contribution of eminent advocate late N Natarajan in protecting the party when it faced trouble and in prosecuting late chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

Recalling Natarajan’s legal acumen while unveiling his portrait, Stalin said, “Everyone knows about the testing time DMK and our late leader Kalaignar went through. When the problem arose through the Jain Commission, no one can forget that Natarajan protected (us) through his arguments. We will never forget it in our lifetime.

“After regime change in 1996, Natarajan offered valuable counsel when it was decided to set up fast-track courts to probe the corruptions of the AIADMK regime. Natarajan told Kalaignar that only those cases with strong evidence should be booked. Accordingly, we had only booked those complaints with strong evidence. Though delayed, the cases were successful,” Stalin added.

Noting how Natarajan was conferred the moniker “criminal legend from Tamil Nadu” by late Ram Jethmalani, Stalin said when Natarajan was appointed CBI counsel for the Mumbai blast cases, many were surprised because he had appeared in many cases against the agency.

But Natarajan used to place his arguments in such a way to win against CBI that the agency accepted him as the best person to appear for the sensitive case.

The late lawyer also saved from the gallows and secured acquittal for 19 of the 26 Rajiv assassination case convicts on appeal in the Supreme Court.

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