MADURAI: Minister for Energy and Law CTR Nirmal Kumar on Friday said there was no political vendetta behind the arrest of eight persons for allegedly trying to bribe and intimidate TVK MLA Dr N Elaiyaraja.
Addressing reporters after taking part in the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting, Nirmal Kumar said no one could be arrested without evidence, adding the the court had remanded the suspects only after examining the materials submitted by police. Rejecting allegations of horse-trading, he said the TVK government had the majority in Assembly, and there was no need for them to lure MLAs from opposition parties.
Responding to remarks made by DMK president MK Stalin earlier that the TVK government would survive for only 30–40 days, the minister said the government remained stable and that the TVK was prepared to face elections any time. MP S Venkatesan, who attended the meeting, hit out at Governor Arlekar for his comments on the Vaigai river clean-up.
“Will the Lok Bhavan also intervene in issues like AIIMS ?” he said. Reacting to the hike in charges for using the railway playground at Arasaradi, the MP said the ground belongs to the Revenue Department and not to the Railways. “Steps would be taken to reclaim it,” he added. Higher Education Minister P Viswanathan and District Collector Nishanth Krishna also participated in the meeting.