CHENNAI: A political controversy erupted on Sunday after Tamil Nadu Development Minister Rajmohan Arumugam claimed that he had been approached through Loyola Mani, chairman of the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation, with an offer of Rs 5 crore to secure the chairmanship of the Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram (IINM) for someone.
Speaking at a government function in Chennai to mark Tamil Nadu Day, Rajmohan said, in response to the offer, he had told Mani that he would not appoint an unqualified person to the post even if offered Rs 500 crore, as Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay would not accept such an appointment. He added that the post had been given to Pushpavanam Kuppusamy without accepting even a single rupee.
“I have never disclosed this before,” Rajmohan said, adding that it was their duty to appoint Kuppusamy as the IINM chairman. The minister’s disclosure of the Rs 5 crore offer quickly became a topic of discussion on social media with a section of users questioning why he had not lodged a complaint against the person who allegedly made the offer. However, Rajmohan did not reveal the identity of the person, despite repeated requests.
BJP vice-president Narayanan Thirupathy said Rajmohan should have immediately lodged a complaint, as both giving and accepting bribes were offences. At the AIADMK headquarters, former minister D Jayakumar also said Rajmohan should identify the person who made the offer for the government post.
