CHENNAI: A day after the arrest of BJP’s state OBC wing secretary KR Venkatesan, aka ‘Milagaipodi’ Venkatesan, for alleged extortion, state president of the party Nainar Nagenthran, on Saturday, expelled him from the party’s primary membership, citing anti-party activities and bringing disrepute to the party.
Venkatesan was arrested by the Red Hills police on Friday for allegedly conducting kangaroo courts, extorting businessmen, and blackmailing.
He was later remanded in judicial custody following an inquiry.
According to the police, Venkatesan is facing over 40 criminal cases in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, including charges of smuggling red sanders and land-related fraud.
The arrest and the subsequent expulsion from the party came after social media went abuzz for a few days after a photo of him welcoming Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the latter’s visit to Madurai was widely circulated.
Responding to criticisms that a person with many criminal cases was made a functionary and allowed to meet with the home minister, Venkatesan had said that he did not face any grievous charges like murder or anti-national activities. Claiming that cases filed against him were politically motivated, he said he was facing them legally.