ED raids on TN minister a diversion from 'vote chori': DMK
ED searched premises linked to minister Periyasamy and his MLA son in Chennai and their hometown of Dindigul
The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu on Saturday hit back strongly at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over raids targeting senior leader and minister I. Periyasamy, describing the move as a ploy to divert attention from what Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has termed “vote chori (theft)” — alleged electoral fraud in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections won by the BJP-led NDA.
The ED conducted searches at several premises linked to Periyasamy and his MLA-son I.P. Senthilkumar in Chennai and their hometown of Dindigul, as part of an ongoing money-laundering investigation.
Reacting to the raids, DMK organisation secretary R.S. Bharathi said the party would “neither fear the ED nor Modi” and vowed to contest the issue legally. In a statement, Bharathi accused the BJP of misusing statutory and autonomous institutions as its “election instruments.”
He alleged that while the BJP levelled charges of “illegal money laundering” against others, it was itself engaged in the “politics of vote chori”. He further claimed: “The BJP stands exposed for indulging in electoral fraud by using the Election Commission. The country is shocked over this. To divert attention from the illegal vote chori, the Enforcement Directorate is conducting searches at premises linked to Periyasamy.”
According to Bharathi, the ED’s sudden interest in older cases involving DMK leaders since the party returned to power amounted to “brazen political vendetta, which even a child can see through”. He also linked the action to the DMK’s recent rebuttals of allegations made by Tamil Nadu governor R.N. Ravi on issues including women’s safety.
Pointing to similar controversies in other states, Bharathi recalled instances where the judiciary had pulled up the ED, including the MUDA land case in neighbouring Karnataka. He also noted that files seeking the governor’s sanction to proceed against some former Tamil Nadu ministers in vigilance-related cases were still pending with the Raj Bhavan. The Centre, he said, should “advise Ravi on the matter”.
Bharathi further argued that despite charge sheets being filed against several AIADMK ex-ministers, the ED had shown no interest in pursuing those cases. “The Centre's only aim is to conduct ED raids in some DMK ministers' houses and create an imagery of criminality,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, senior DMK leader and MP Kanimozhi said the party would not be intimidated by the Central agency’s actions. Speaking to reporters in her constituency Thoothukkudi, she remarked: “On the one hand, the BJP is using the EC to carry out attacks against democracy using SIR (Special Intensive Revision in Bihar) in a desperate bid to win elections.
"At the same time, agencies like IT, ED and CBI, which they regularly use as a weapon against the Opposition, are being used against senior minsters of DMK as well. These agencies have been weaponised and used as instruments against the Opposition. One such raid is happening today. The DMK will face this.”
She added: “The minister has crossed so many challenges and stood firm with the DMK. No amount of intimidation will threaten our workers and leaders.”
The money-laundering case against Periyasamy originates from an April order of the Madras High Court, which instructed a special court in Dindigul to frame charges against him and his family members in a Rs 2.1 crore “disproportionate assets” case. The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had earlier appealed against their discharge from the case. The high court directed the special court to conduct the trial on a day-to-day basis and conclude it within six months.
The prosecution has alleged that Periyasamy, during his tenure as a minister between 2006 and 2010, amassed assets worth Rs 2.1 crore in his name and in the names of his wife P. Suseela and sons P. Sentilkumar and P. Prabhu, disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Periyasamy is not the only DMK leader under scrutiny. Former ministers K. Ponmudy and V. Senthil Balaji are also being investigated by the ED. Balaji faces allegations linked to a cash-for-jobs scam dating back to his stint as transport minister in an earlier AIADMK government, while Ponmudy has appeared before the agency in connection with a money-laundering case related to alleged illegal sand mining.
With PTI inputs