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ED raiding TN minister’s premises to divert attention from Oppn meet: Stalin
Another DMK minister V Senthil Balaji was arrested on June 14 after ED raided his premises. Balaji later underwent heart surgery.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) was carrying out raids on Monday at the premises of Tamil Nadu minister K Ponmudi, chief minister M K Stalin said and added this was part of the tactics of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre to divert attention from the meeting of opposition parties in Bengaluru.
Stalin said their meetings to get rid of the BJP has become a major irritant for the ruling party at the Centre and that it was now using the ED in Tamil Nadu like it has been doing in the northern parts of the country. “But the DMK [Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam] is not worried about it,” Stalin said before leaving for Bengaluru for the second two-day meeting of the non-BJP leaders.
There was no confirmation of the raids from ED. But people aware of the matter said Ponmudi was being raided over a case related to alleged losses to the exchequer when he was a minister in the DMK government between 2007 and 2011.
Another DMK minister V Senthil Balaji was arrested on June 14 after ED raided his premises. Balaji later underwent heart surgery.
Stalin said a “false case” was registered against Ponmudi when DMK’s arch-rival All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) was in power. “The case was registered 13 years ago and the AIADMK was in power for 10 years [2011-2021] but they did not take any action,” said Stalin. “Courts have dismissed two cases registered against Ponmudi in the last 10 years. So he will deal with these cases legally too.”
Stalin said Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi’s actions against them were indirectly contributing to the DMK’s campaign for the 2024 national elections. “Now, the ED has also joined. So, I think, our election campaign will be easier,” he said.
Stalin was due to join non-BJP leaders in Bengaluru as they were expected to build on the initial momentum post their first meeting involving 15 parties in Patna on June 23. Joint programmes at the national level were among the plans to be explored in Bengaluru. HT reported that possible seat adjustments between the parties will be left for the respective state units.
A total of 24 parties, nine more than the Patna meeting, were expected to join the Bengaluru discussions spread over two days in an indication of their growing strength.
The non-BJP leaders will join an informal meeting before Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah hosts a dinner for them on Monday. They will have their main meeting from 11am on Tuesday.
A strategy for the Parliament session will also be discussed. The Bengaluru discussions will also not have any fixed agenda. More objective outcomes were expected after the meeting.
