Delhi: Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK and other Opposition parties have slammed the late-night arrest of state minister V. Senthil Balaji in an alleged money-laundering case.
The power, excise and prohibition minister was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for 18 straight hours at his Chennai residence before being taken into custody in the early hours Wednesday.
Around 2 am, he was taken to the Omandurar Government Multi-Super Specialty Hospital for checkup as he complained of chest pain.
The doctors conducted a coronary angiogram on the minister and advised a bypass surgery “at the earliest”.
State minister Senthil Balaji underwent Coronary Angiogram today; Bypass surgery is advised at the earliest: Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital, Chennai pic.twitter.com/UgGmMz6Wcd
— ANI (@ANI) June 14, 2023
VIDEO | Following his arrest by ED in the early hours of Wednesday in connection with an alleged money laundering case related to a job racket, Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji complained of chest discomfort, and was taken to the Omandurar Government Hospital in… pic.twitter.com/c2E2asEKMC
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 14, 2023
DMK MP and advocate N.R. Elango said the procedure adopted by the ED was “totally illegal and unconstitutional”. “He was taken into custody without being informed about the grounds of his arrest. We will fight this case legally,” Elango said.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge released a statement Wednesday morning, calling Balaji’s arrest “nothing but political harassment and vendetta by the Modi govt against those opposed to it”. He condemned the arrest, adding that the Opposition would not be intimidated by “such brazen moves”.
Tamil Nadu’s law minister S. Raghupathi said Balaji was “targeted and tortured” by the ED and that the probe agency’s action was “totally against human rights”.
Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said it was wrong how the ED was being misused.
The Nationalist Congress Party’s Supriya Sule said she was not surprised at all at Balaji’s arrest. “Data speaks for itself. Data, which has come in newspapers and channels, show that 95 percent of people who have ED and CBI cases are from the Opposition,” Sule said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin met the arrested minister at the Omandurar hospital on Wednesday morning.
Stalin has been extremely critical of Tuesday’s ED raids at Balaji’s office in the state secretariat. He called it “backdoor tactics of BJP against political opponents”. He also said the ED action in the secretariat building was a “direct assault on the federal principle”.
Meanwhile, there was heavy police deployment in the minister’s home district Karur on Wednesday following the arrest.
Screenplay, dialogue written by DMK: BJP
Balaji was seen breaking down in tears while being driven to a Chennai hospital around 2 am Wednesday for a medical checkup after his arrest.
Tamil Nadu’s BJP Vice-President Narayanan Thirupathy called this “complete drama with the screenplay and dialogues written by the DMK”.
Thirupathy said: “He is a minister and it is his duty to cooperate with the investigation. He has taken money from ordinary people for government jobs. He can’t take the law in his hands.”
The BJP has demanded that Balaji be dismissed from the DMK government. Thirupathy told news agency ANI that the Stalin dispensation would be “laughing stock” if he did not sack Balaji. Stalin should also order Balaji to cooperate with the probe so that “justice can be served”.
The ED case against Balaji
Balaji, 48, is the first minister in the Stalin-led DMK government to be investigated by the probe agency.
The ED has launched multi-city raids in premises linked to the Karur politician, including his secretariat office. This came months after the Supreme Court allowed a police and ED probe into allegations that he and his associates took bribes to give jobs in the state’s transport department. Before joining the DMK in 2016, Senthil was the transport minister from 2011 to 2015 in the AIADMK-led government.
In July 2015, Balaji lost the ministry after being dropped by then chief minister J. Jayalaithaa from her cabinet. He was also removed from the post of Karur district secretary.
He joined the DMK in December, 2018.