CHENNAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday denied the corruption charges levelled against him by P Vetrivel, a supporter of TTV Dhinakaran and one of the disqualified MLAs. He said such charges were levelled only with a view to maligning the present State government.
He made this remark while addressing a public meeting at Thirukkazhukundram as part of the 70th birth anniversary celebrations of the late Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa.
|”There are so many tenders being floated in Highways and Public Works Departments. The tender forms are available online. Only eligible tenders will be selected and whole process is transparent. The procedure is the same during the DMK regime as well as in the present government,” the CM said.
Stating that three charges including the one about Madurai bypass were laid against him and he was duty-bound to clarify them, Palaniswami said,”Three renowned companies took part in the bidding and the company which quoted lowest bid was selected to execute the work.”
Referring to another project, Palaniswami said the tender was floated as per the norms of the World Bank as the State government was getting financial assistance from that bank.
The entire process was done online and there was no possibility of irregularities in selecting the company. Roads in Tamil Nadu are getting the national-level certificate as the best ones, Palaniswami added.