CHENNAI: The CPM and CPI on Thursday alleged that political parties were distributing cash to voters in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies. CPM state secretary P Shanmugam alleged that the TVK was giving the highest amount among the parties.
Speaking to reporters after taking part in a protest in Chennai demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Shanmugam said he had visited several villages in Madurantakam on Wednesday as part of the CPM’s campaign.
“Voters in some villages told us that other parties were distributing cash while we were only giving them pamphlets,” he said. According to Shanmugam, voters told him that the TVK was offering the highest amount. He urged the Election Commission to take action if such complaints are found to be true.
He also questioned remarks made by TVK candidate P Sathyabama at a campaign meeting in Dharapuram attended by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday. Referring to her decision to resign as MLA and join the TVK, Sathyabama had said she did so to work for the development of the constituency without expecting any personal benefit.
Shanmugam asked whether the statement suggested that constituencies represented by Opposition MLAs would not receive the same attention from the government.
CPI state secretary M Veerapandian also alleged that the DMK, AIADMK and TVK had brought their own teams to the two constituencies to assess voters and determine the amount of cash that could be distributed.
The CPI, CPM and CPI(ML) staged protests across Tamil Nadu on Thursday demanding the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Shanmugam urged the DMK leadership to join the next phase of protests by the INDIA bloc. He said the issue was not confined to any particular party but concerned the voting rights of citizens.