People know who is responsible for Veda Nilayam I-T raids: CM

TNN | Nov 19, 2017, 00:44 IST

 

Madurai: Who is TTV Dhinakaran?, How can he be responsible for my appointment when he was not in the party for ten years and only came into it after Amma's demise, asked chief minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami here on Saturday.

He was addressing mediapersons at the airport here on his way back to Chennai after participating in the MGR centenary function at Sivaganga. "He was not in the party for ten years, whereas I have been there since 1974 and have held many important posts that Amma bestowed on me. I have gone to prison six times for the party, how many times has Dhinakaran gone?," he said. The chief minister also listed the various posts he had held, including district secretary in 1991 and PWD minister, an appointment Jayalalithaa made. "If he had appointed me, would I not be loyal to him?'' he asked.

On Dhinakaran's charge that he (CM) and deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam were responsible for the raids on Veda Nilayam, he said, "It is you (media) who are promoting T T V Dhinarakan by giving him prominence," he said adding that Dhinakaran had nothing to do with the party. "You know who is responsible for income tax raids on Veda Nilayam and why. It is a temple for us and that is why the government has taken steps to turn it into a memorial," said the chief minister. He said that it was a well-known fact that the I-T department did not come under the state government and as to who was controlling it. Income tax raids were conducted on people who evaded taxes, he said.