DMK supremo M Karunanidhi is set to appear before a Chennai court on January 18 in a defamation case filed by Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa.

Karunanidhi  had been sued for defamation by long-time rival, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

Jayalalithaa had objected to an article published in DMK mouth piece Murasoli published an article which stated that the AIADMK-led government did not do enough for the state.

The article had mentioned a survey done by popular Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan in order to support their claim which also echoed the DMK’s view on the government’s performance over the last four years.

Karunanidhi said that the case is an attempt " to threaten publications that don't support the ruling AIADMK" via a party statement released on Thursday.

The assembly elections are less than six months away and will be a fight between the Dravidian majors-AIADMK and DMK.

The CM had filed a criminal defamation case against Karunanidhi and the editor of Ananda Vikatan in November last year.