E-Paper
Stalin attacks BJP as Tamil Nadu minister Balaji is hospitalised after arrest
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin , who rushed to see Balaji at a Chennai hospital, blamed torture for the minister’s chest pain that led to his hospitalisation
Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji was sent to judicial remand till June 28 by a Chennai district judge on Wednesday hours after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over money laundering charges in a 2011-2015 corruption case and was subsequently admitted to a Chennai hospital, where doctors recommended an immediate heart surgery.
The arrest drew sharp reactions from Opposition parties, with the Congress, DMK and other criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre for misusing federal probe agencies. According to ED officials, Balaji was arrested post Tuesday midnight and was taken to Chennai’s Omandurar government hospital, where he could be seen lying in an ambulance, crying, holding his chest and covering his face. He was dragged on to a stretcher past 2.30am and taken inside the hospital, videos showed.
Doctors at the hospital did an angiogram at 10.30am and said he has been diagnosed with a heart disease (called triple vessel disease) and advised a coronary artery bypass surgery at the “earliest”, according to the hospital. ED officials called on the doctors later.
Senior advocate and DMK MP NR Elango filed a habeas corpus petition before a bench of justices M Sundar and R Sakthivel of the Madras high court, saying the minister was arrested without following due procedure such as issuing summons. At about 2.30pm justice Sakthivel recused himself from the hearing.
An hour later, principal district judge A Alli head ED’s remand application in the hospital and remanded him to judicial custody until June 28 while allowing him to continue treatment in the hospital, said an official in the know of the developments. At about 5pm, Elango argued for bail to Balaji at the chambers of district judge A Alli, which ED opposed. The judge reserved her order. ED also filed another petition seeking custody of Balaji, which is likely to be heard on June 15.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin accused the federal agency of torturing his colleague, which allegedly led to his hospitalisation.Stalin said Balaji was tortured even after the minister said he would cooperate with the investigation. “Is it necessary... to act in a dehumanising manner in violation of the legal procedures?”
He said the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will not be intimidated by “these threats” from the BJP. “Do not fear. People will teach them a lesson in the 2024 [national] elections,” Stalin said. “They have acted very inhumanely even beyond the level needed for this case. We can clearly see the ill intentions of the ones who sent these [ED] officials. Balaji will fight legally,” Stalin said.
At least 15 state ministers visited Balaji in the hospital.
Balaji was arrested hours after Stalin slammed the BJP’s “backdoor tactics” against its political opponents as ED on Tuesday launched raids at premises linked to Balaji as part of its probe against him in Tamil Nadu’s Chennai, Karur and Erode. Stalin called ED’s raid at the secretariat office of Balaji a direct assault on the federal principle.
The allegations against Balaji date back to 2011-15 when he was the transport minister in the previous All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government. The complaints against him had alleged that he had taken money from candidates in return for promised jobs. Many candidates did not get jobs despite allegedly paying bribes, the complaints had alleged. After the allegations, Balaji was dropped from the cabinet and he quit AIADMK after former chief minister J Jayalalitha’s death in 2016. He joined the DMK in December 2018.
In May, the Supreme Court allowed ED to continue its money laundering investigations in the alleged job scam overruling a Madras high court order of 2022. Balaji was arrested two weeks after the income-tax (I-T) department raided over 40 places across in Tamil Nadu linked to the minister.
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai hit back at Stalin, calling the chief minister hypocritical in his stance on corruption. “When the Income-Tax [Department] raided the chief secretary’s office in December 2016, Stalin welcomed it and called the agency independent. He is now showing double standards,” Annamalai said.
BJP leader Narayanan Thirupathy called Balaji’s hospitalisation “a complete drama” and said he should be sacked as minister. “Stalin’s government would be a laughing stock if he does not do so. He should also order him to cooperate with the probe so that justice can be done,” he said.
Opposition AIADMK leader Edapaddi Palaniswami echoed him. “When our leader and former minister Jayakumar was arrested, he was imprisoned for 20 days. He was not even permitted to take medicines. Balaji is doing drama now. As moral responsibility, he should resign from his ministerial post.”
DMK’s allies, including the Congress, rallied behind Tamil Nadu’s ruling party. “Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress president, condemns the late-night arrest of...Balaji...This is nothing but political harassment and vendetta by the Modi government against those opposed to it. None of us in the Opposition will be intimidated by such brazen moves,” the Congress said in a statement.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Mamata Banerjee’s TMC also condemned Balaji’s arrest, saying the BJP appeared intent on diverting attention through its “relentless pursuit of political vendetta”.
“This arrest is a continued attack on India’s Opposition, and it undermines the very foundations of our democracy, which thrives on the principles of justice, fairness and the right to dissent,” AAP said in a statement. West Bengal chief minister Banerjee condemned the BJP’s “political vendetta” against Tamil Nadu’s DMK government and said misuse of central agencies was unacceptable.
