Chennai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday performed searches towards Tamil Nadu minister for electrical energy, excise and prohibition Senthil Balaji, prompting chief minister MK Stalin to name the motion “backdoor techniques of BJP towards its political opponents”, and he discovered help from his ally Congress and his West Bengal and Delhi counterparts Mamata Banerjee Arvind Kejriwal.
ED officers raided the minister’s official residence in Chennai and his workplace within the state secretariat apart from the premises in his native Karur and Erode. The motion comes after the income-tax division raided greater than 40 locations throughout Tamil Nadu linked to the minister two weeks in the past and after the Supreme Courtroom in Could allowed the ED to probe into an alleged cash-for-jobs rip-off towards Balaji by overruling an order by the Madras excessive court docket in 2022. The case towards Balaji pertains to allegations when he was the transport minister in the course of the AIADMK-led authorities from 2011 to 2015 earlier than he switched to the DMK.
DMK’s organising secretary R S Bharathi, who was current in Balaji’s residence, questioned if the ED was concentrating on the minister since there was an influence lower of quarter-hour after Union dwelling minister Amit Shah got here out of the Chennai airport on June 10. “That is occurring after Amit Shah’s go to. They’ve an ulterior motive,” mentioned Bharathi, including that the raids are additionally a diversionary tactic because the BJP’s ally AIADMK is threatening to interrupt the alliance. Balaji on Monday mentioned the facility lower throughout Shah’s go to was “unintended”, blaming the BJP for politicising the incident.
ED’s raid on the secretariat workplace of the minister “is a direct assault on the federal precept,” Stalin mentioned. The West Bengal chief minister took to Twitter to sentence the “political vendetta” by the BJP towards Tamil Nadu’s DMK authorities. “Misuse of central businesses continues,” Banerjee mentioned. “ED raids in Tamil Nadu on the workplace of the minister for prohibition and excise on the state secretariat and his official residence are unacceptable. Determined acts by BJP.”
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described the raids as a type of harassment and intimidation by the Narendra Modi-led Union authorities. “Such gross misuse of investigative businesses towards political opponents has been the hallmark of the Modi authorities,” Kharge mentioned. “These techniques is not going to reach silencing the Opposition. They solely reinforce its dedication and resolve to proceed its democratic wrestle towards the anti-people insurance policies of the Modi authorities.”
The minister was on his morning stroll when the raids started. “After my associates knowledgeable me in regards to the raids, I lower my stroll quick and took a taxi right here (dwelling),” Balaji mentioned. “Let’s see with what intention they’ve come to raid. Allow them to full it,” he mentioned, including that crucial paperwork have been submitted to the I-T division after they had performed simultaneous searches towards these near him. “Whether or not it’s I-T or ED, I’ll totally cooperate with them.”
The opposition AIADMK-BJP alliance has been demanding that the minister resign.
“The backdoor techniques of BJP towards its political opponents is not going to yield the specified outcomes,” Stalin mentioned. “BJP will be taught it the laborious method quickly. The silence of people who find themselves watching BJP’s low cost acts of vindictive politics shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s nothing however the calm earlier than the storm of 2024 that may sweep BJP away.”
DMK chief Bharathi mentioned he was not allowed to fulfill the minister who can be a district secretary within the get together. “However, legally I’m his lawyer. I’ve appeared for him in a number of circumstances,” mentioned Bharathi. “So, I’ve the proper to fulfill him. I advised officers that I’ll meet him of their presence for 10 minutes. I need to know what is occurring. We’re in the dead of night.”