The DMK on Wednesday demanded immediate removal of Markandey Katju from the post of Chairman of the Press Council of India. In letters addressed to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, vice-president, Union Ministers of law, Justice and Information and Broadcasting, the party’s legal wing secretary R S Bharati said Katju was not fit for holding the present office because of “his continuous outbursts and temperamental behavior”.

“The DMK is submitting this representation to bring to your notice the various omissions and commissions of Markandey Katju, which amounts to misconduct and proven misbehaviour and therefore seeking his removal from the said post”, Bharatio said in the letter. The letter said that Katju, right from the date of assuming office as PCI Chairman, had been issuing controversial statements and criticising political leaders, parliamentarians, legislators and now the Judiciary, “which is our respectful opinion a whole time officer holding a public office is not expected to do”.

The letter pointed out that Katju, being a statutory authority, cannot act as a mouthpiece of any political party nor air his controversial views which are political in nature while holding public office.

The DMK is furious following the revelations by Katju, a former Judge of the Supreme Court who was also the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, that the party exerted pressure on the UPA Government in 2005 to confirm the services of Santiago Ashok Kumar, an additional Judge of the Madras High Court.

According to Katju, Ashok Kumar was a tainted judge as there were many cases of corruption charges against him. Katju, in his blog post had said that the DMK, a major constituent of the UPA which ruled the country for a decade between 2004 and 2010, held the Manmohan Singh Government to ransom for promoting Ashok Kumar as a permanent judge of the Madras High Court.

Katju revealed that the UPA Government had pressurised the then Supreme Court chief justice to reject the recommendation of the three- judge collegium which ruled against making Kumar a permanent Judge.