E-Paper
What exactly are the controversial Tamil Nadu tapes that may have cost PTR his job as FM?
Palanivel Thiaga Rajan was relieved of his finance portfolio and has been assigned the information and technology department.
Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, also known as PTR, served as the finance minister in MK Stalin's government in Tamil Nadu for two years beginning 2021 when the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam came to power in the state. On Thursday, the Stalin government carried out its cabinet reshuffle. PTR has now been relieved of finance portfolio and is now the state IT minister.
PTR tapes implosion
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai dropped a bombshell on April 19 with the release of an audio clip which he claimed contains the voice of PTR making allegations against Stalin's family members and the DMK leaders.
The 26-second audio clip which Annamalai claimed has the voice of Rajan alleging that Stalin's son Udhayanidhi and son-in-law V Sabareesan illegally amassed ₹30,000 crore in a year. HT can't independently verify the audio clips.
On April 25, the TN BJP chief released a 57-second audio clip and called it PTR-2. Annamalai claimed it also contains voice of PTR who is apparently drawing parallels between the DMK and the BJP. The speaker in the audio claims he is a long-time proponent of one man, one post, a norm in the BJP.
The audio is cut in parts as the speaker goes on to say,“...It is not a system. They are taking a bulk of the spoils…The party which is the CM’s son and son-in-law…So I decided after watching this for 8 months, this is not a sustainable model. The great luxury for me is if I put my papers in, in the short term I get out before the shit starts blowing up in their face. And I have the cleanliness of my conscience.”
PTR's denial
Following the release of tapes, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan had issued a denial and said the tapes were ‘fabricated’, refuting claims of having made remarks against the CM's son and son-in-law.
The DMK leader had shared purported videos of Barack Obama and Donald Trump, saying they were digitally altered. "If such authentic looking videos can be machine-generated, imagine what all can be done with audio files. I strongly and specifically deny having said to any individual, personally or on the phone at any point of time what is contained in the audio clip being circulated on the social media since yesterday, the source of which nobody accepts ownership for," he had said.
DMK's response
On Thursday, the Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin filed a defamation suit against Annamalai for making corruption allegations against him and his cabinet colleagues. The defamation suit said the accusations were made without basis and evidence. It accused the TN BJP chief of resorting to political ill-will.
