COIMBATORE: Officers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) who caused mental and physical agony to Minister V Senthil Balaji will face the consequences very soon, DMK treasurer TR Baalu said on Friday.
Speaking in a protest by DMK-led secular progressive alliance parties to condemn the BJP for using central agencies against opposition parties, and Senthil Balaji’s arrest, Baalu questioned the necessity for invoking PMLA against the minister.
“Senthil Balaji was handled in an inhumane manner by ED officers. They did not inform him under what case he was being interrogated till minutes before he was arrested. Finally, they gave him a letter and asked him to sign on it. But the minister refused as he did not know anything about the contents and suffered sudden cardiac illness and sat on the floor. Without considering his situation, the officers pulled him up and it resulted in him hitting his head on the floor. There is an injury on his head,” Baalu said.
“The officers continued with their inhumane behavior saying he was feigning illness. Those who were involved in the atrocities will be made responsible and punished once the scenes change,” Baalu added.
Further, Baalu said BJP resorted to such action as it fears defeat in all the eleven parliamentary constituencies in the Kongu belt if Senthil Balaji is active.
VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan said the ED action proved that BJP’s target is DMK chief Stalin as he is uniting opposition parties. Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani, MDMK general secretary Vaiko, TNCC president KS Alagiri, CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan, CPI state secretary R Mutharasan also spoke.