CHENNAI: Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and was remanded to judicial custody till June 28 in a cash-for-jobs scam. He was arrested around 1.30 am on Wednesday, following raids on his premises since Tuesday morning. Even as the minister’s counsel filed an application seeking bail before a city court, the ED filed a petition seeking 15-day custody of the minister.
Sessions Court Principal Judge S Alli adjourned the hearing in ED petition for custody to June 15 (Thursday) and directed the minister’s counsel to file a reply. She visited the hospital where Balaji was admitted before passing the order. The judge has also reserved orders on a bail application and another plea to shift him to a private hospital for heart surgery.
Balaji was hospitalised in the wee hours of Wednesday after he complained of chest pain following his arrest after an 18-hour ED search operation at his home, secretariat, and several other places across the state. HR &CE minister P K Sekarbabu said there were “symptoms” that Balaji was “tortured”. TV visuals showed Balaji feeling uneasy and crying while being brought to the hospital.
“He is in the ICU. He was in an unconscious state and did not respond when we called him by his name. He is under observation...there is a swelling near his ear. Doctors say there is variation in his ECG (electrocardiogram)... these are symptoms of torture,” Sekarbabu told reporters. Balaji “underwent Coronary Angiogram at 10.40 am”, said a medical bulletin issued by the director of the Multi Super Speciality Hospital, Omandurar Estate.
“Coronary Angiogram revealed triple vessel disease for which CABG (Coronary artery bypass graft) is advised at the earliest,” it said. The ED was believed to be taking Balaji to its office in Nungambakkam for further interrogation when he broke down and screamed of chest pain forcing the CRPF personnel to rush him to the ICU of the hospital, sources said.
ED, CBI not going after corrupt: Kejriwal
“This is nothing but political harassment and vendetta by the Modi government against those opposed to it. None of us in the opposition will be intimidated by such brazen moves. Such gross misuse of investigative agencies against political opponents has been the hallmark of the Modi government,” said a statement issued by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Addressing a press conference, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and CPI general secretary D Raja said central probe agencies like CBI and ED were targeting states ruled by opposition parties. “CBI and ED should be renamed as ‘BJP’s Army’... We condemn the raid and arrest of the TN minister. The manner in which the arrest has been made is also very objectionable,” Kejriwal said.
“ED and CBI are not going after corrupt people anymore... all corrupt people are getting refuge in BJP,” the AAP leader said. “There was a time when these investigative agencies were respected. When they used to raid somewhere or arrest someone, it seemed that person must have done something wrong. “Today, these agencies have become only political weapons of the BJP,” he alleged.
Kejriwal said that BJP would still not win any seats in Tamil Nadu. Raja, meanwhile, pointed out that the raid took place a few days after union home minister Amit Shah claimed the BJP would win 25 Lok Sabha seats during a visit to Tamil Nadu. “It’s highly objectionable that ED can go inside the secretariat. If the BJP thinks they can win seats in Tamil Nadu by doing this, they are living in a fool’s paradise.
Tamil Nadu will not allow BJP,” Raja said. National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party PDP too expressed solidarity with the DMK and Balaji. “Tell me in which state has this not happened and which political party has not faced it. It has become a small price we pay for being in politics,” NC vice-president Omar Abdullah told reporters in Kashmir’s Budgam district.
Citing the minister’s medical report, “We strongly condemn the way they (ED personnel) behaved with the minister... I think the central government and these agencies should rethink about their behaviour,” Abdullah said. A joint statement issued by members of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance in TN said a public meeting will be held in Coimbatore on Friday to condemn the arrest.
While CPI state secretary R Mutharasan said a one-man dictatorship is being built to destroy democratic systems that allow for a multi-party system of government in India, TVK president T Velmurugan said the union government is trying to intimidate the Tamil Nadu government with an eye on parliamentary elections. MDMK general secretary Vaiko said the BJP-led centre has deployed various central agencies, including the ED, to silence opposition parties. CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan requested all democratic forces to raise their voice against the political vendetta of the union government.