THOOTHUKUDI: The liquor scam that toppled the governments in Chhattisgarh and Delhi will rattle Tamil Nadu as well, said state BJP president K Annamalai, adding that the investigation into the ‘Chennai liquor scam’ by the Enforcement Directorate has gained momentum.
Speaking to media persons at the Thoothukudi airport, Annamalai said the ‘Chennai liquor scam’ would pave the way for the BJP in the state as the ED has started an investigation into liquor procurement and sharing between the Tasmac and distillery manufacturers.
“The DMK got benefits of Rs 1,000 crore through this scam, and they have hoarded the money in all districts to use ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. We will only focus on this scam for the next year and not on other issues,” said Annamalai.
On the controversy over the three-language policy in the Parliament, Annamalai defended Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's ‘uncivilised’ remark, stating that criticism of Parliamentarians cannot be considered as criticism of the people of Tamil Nadu. “Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also speaks based on the data, which shows the decreasing learning skills of Tamil students below Class 8. This cannot be seen as a statement made against the interest of the Tamils,” he said.
While the children and grandchildren of the state’s ministers are enrolled in schools with three languages and foreign countries, they are not bothered about the 27% drop in strength of students in Tamil-medium schools.
Speaking about Chief Minister M K Stalin’s call to meet other state representatives on the two-language policy, Annamalai said that it will be of no use as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka have already adopted multiple-language models.
Further, Annamalai said as many as 36 fishermen groups from several fishing hamlets will meet the External Affairs Minister to take up the issues related to the arrests of Indian fishers and the seizure of their boats.