AIADMK meets guv with plaint on DMK’s ‘corruption, collection’

AIADMK meets guv with plaint on DMK’s ‘corruption, collection’

Says Govt Shows ‘Undue Interest’ In Kodanad Case

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:20.08.2021

A day after a war of words between the ruling DMK and the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu assembly over cases relating to burglary and suspicious deaths at late chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s Kodanad estate, an AIADMK delegation led by party coordinator O Panneerselvam and joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami called on governor Banwarilal Purohit at the Raj Bhavan on Thursday and submitted a memorandum alleging “corruption and collection” by the DMK. The party charged the ruling DMK with “pursuing vendetta politics and showing undue interest in Kodanad estate cases.”

Questioning the way tender rules are being flouted by the government, the memorandum also said that “ultra-constitutional powers”, comprising chief minister M K Stalin’s family members, were controlling the government.

“When the Kodanad case is in court, how can CM Stalin say conducting reinvestigation is part of his party’s poll promise?” asked Palaniswami.

POINT BY POINT: Former CM Edappadi K Palaniswami and AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam in Chennai on Thursday

EPS: DMK showing undue interest in protecting accused

Palaniswami said, “All the witnesses in the Kodanad case have been examined and only the final hearing is pending in court. But the DMK is showing undue interest in protecting the accused and maligning the AIADMK.”

He was speaking to reporters after the party delegation met governor Purohit. Former AIADMK ministers S P Velumani, P Thangamani, C Ve Shanmugham and D Jayakumar, besides AIADMK deputy coordinators K P Munusamy and R Vaithilingam were part of the delegation.

The AIADMK delegation’s visit comes against the backdrop of a series of searches carried out by the DVAC on the premises of former ministers S P Velumani and M R Vijayabhaskar and renewed focus on investigation into the Kodanad heist and death cases. Questioning the motive of the DMK government, the AIADMK members had announced boycott of assembly proceedings for two days from Wednesday.

Palaniswami charged that cases were being foisted on former AIADMK ministers. He said the DMK government had sought to divert attention of the people after its white paper failed to cut much ice. “DMK had promised to abolish NEET soon after coming to power. While the parents of students are waiting anxiously, the DMK government has constituted a committee to decide further course of action on NEET,” Palaniswami said.

EPS alleged that the DMK government was under-reporting Covid numbers but going overboard on the Kodanad case. “Instead of focusing on containing the Covid pandemic, when the state is still reporting cases above 1,800 per day and with the threat of a third wave, the DMK government is focusing its attention on vendetta politics,” he said.