CHENNAI: Former DMK minister and Coimbatore South MLA V Senthil Balaji has come under police scanner after the Chennai police named him and his brother V Ashok Kumar in connection with an alleged Rs 35-crore bribery and intimidation bid targeting Uthangarai MLA N Ilaiyaraja of the ruling TVK.
While three persons have been arrested and remanded for allegedly pressuring MLA Ilaiyaraja to vote against Speaker J C D Prabhakar in a proposed no-confidence motion in the Assembly, four more persons are being quizzed. Police claimed the accused acted at the behest of Ashok Kumar.
The case was registered after the MLA submitted a complaint to the Greater Chennai Police Commissioner A Amalraj on Monday. In the complaint, the MLA stated that Thirunavukkarasu representing Indian Political Democratic Strategies (IPDS), a political opinion polling firm, had first contacted him a few days ago, reaching out on behalf of leaders of a major political party and sought a personal meeting, which the MLA declined citing prior commitments.
Police alleged that Thirunavukkarasu contacted Ilaiyaraja again and offered him Rs 35 crore to vote against the Speaker in the proposed Assembly resolution. When Ilaiyaraja rejected the offer and warned him not to contact him again, Thirunavukkarasu allegedly threatened him and his family of dire consequences if he disclosed the conversation to anyone.
Police said that they found that Thirunavukkarasu (45) of Arumbakkam was acting in coordination with Naresh (40) of Tiruchy and Thyagarajan (40) of Medavakkam. The Triplicane Police booked the trio under provisions relating to bribery, criminal intimidation and obstructing a public servant from discharging official duties, and arrested them.
“Inquiry further revealed that Thirunavukkarasu contacted and threatened the MLA on the instructions of Senthil Balaji and Ashok Kumar. Ashok Kumar had also met Naresh in Chennai,” a senior police officer said.
TVK trying to malign opposition without evidence: DMK
A special police team investigating the case has detained four more persons for questioning.
Electricity and Law Minister and TVK deputy general secretary C T R Nirmalkumar slammed the DMK for indulging in “horse trading”. Speaking to reporters at the secretariat, Nirmalkumar alleged that at the instigation of Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin and V Senthil Balaji, their associates offered TVK MLAs between `10-`50 crore and intimidated them to support the no-confidence motion against the Speaker. He said strict legal action would be taken against all those involved.
On DMK leader R S Bharathi’s complaint to the governor accusing TVK of indulging in horse trading, he said, “If you have evidence, produce it. Parties supported us in forming the government, respecting the people’s mandate. We neither asked anyone to resign nor offered inducements. They resigned on their own.”
Meanwhile, the DMK responded to the allegation, accusing the ruling party of attempting to malign the opposition through an “evidence-less” case. DMK spokesperson and media wing joint secretary Saravanan Annadurai raised several questions in a post on X.
Saravanan said that while a person who allegedly contacted the MLA has been arrested, no action had been taken against Senthil Balaji’s brother, suggesting that investigators themselves lacked evidence against him.
Saravanan asked why the TVK had not disclosed the identities of other MLAs allegedly approached and if there was even a pending motion to remove the speaker. He also alleged that the government had acted with unusual haste in registering the case, contrasting its inaction over complaints against Minister Sarathkumar.
Saravanan further accused the government of spreading “baseless allegations” against the DMK through the media and asked whether the controversy was intended to divert attention from the induction of former AIADMK MLAs, including M R Vijayabaskar, into the ruling party.
He also linked the episode to recent remarks by MDMK general secretary Vaiko that the CM had attempted to engineer defections, and questioned whether the present case was an image-building exercise in response to those allegations.
Senior DMK leader and advocate N R Elango questioned the legal validity of the case, alleging procedural lapses in the registration of the FIR. “If the case concerns bribery, it ought to have been investigated by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption. Instead, it has been registered by the law and order police, thereby bypassing the procedure applicable to corruption cases,” Elango alleged.
DMK goes to governor
Chennai: The DMK has filed written complaints with Governor R V Arlekar and director of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) seeking registration of an FIR and a thorough probe into alleged ‘horse-trading’ attempts by CM Vijay to secure a majority by making opposition MLAs quit posts and join TVK | P4