Chennai: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has moved the Madras High Court seeking action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against BJP leaders.
A writ petition filed by DMK MP and advocate R. Girirajan alleges that BJP leaders N. Nainar Nagendran and Kesava Vinayagam were linked to an electoral offence in which Rs 3.98 crore was seized on 6 April 2024 in Tirunelveli. The cash was recovered from individuals who allegedly claimed it was meant for voter inducement. An FIR was registered and the case was later transferred to the CBCID, which added charges including conspiracy and cheating.
The petition argues that the offences qualify as “scheduled offences” under the PMLA, making it mandatory for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to register an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and initiate a money laundering probe. However, Girirajan alleged, the ED failed to act despite sufficient evidence, possibly due to political influence.
The plea seeks a direction to the ED to register an ECIR and conduct a proper investigation, stating that failure to act violates statutory duty and undermines the rule of law.
“It is an electoral offence of money laundering in this case of Nainar Nagendran. It was not a small amount. Rs 4 crore was seized in which Nainar Nagendran was involved. Usually, ED files an ECIR and arrests people. They target opposition leaders but when such a huge amount is involved in an electoral offence, ED should do its job and take action,” said DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai.
Responding to the issue, Narayanan Thirupathy, chief spokesperson, TN BJP, told ThePrint, “The DMK, which controls the police department, is deliberately registering such cases for political ends. If this financial fraud had indeed occurred, the Enforcement Directorate would investigate it. The BJP has no need to engage in such actions for the sake of politics.”
However, Saravanan Annadurai refuted the allegations and accused the ED of “political and election stunts” to protect the guilty. DMK was not doing anything of that sort, he said.
Earlier, the DMK, through Girirajan, had filed nine separate writ petitions in the Madras High Court seeking directions to the ED to register ECIRs against senior leaders of the previous AIADMK regime.
The petitions were moved against former ministers S. P. Velumani, C. Vijayabaskar, K. P. Anbalagan, C. Kamaraj, K. C. Veeramani, M. R. Vijayabaskar, P. Thangamani, former MLA B. Sathyanarayanan, and R. Elangovan, a relative of former CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
Citing Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption FIRs under the Prevention of Corruption Act for criminal misconduct, illegal gratification, and disproportionate assets, the DMK argued that the ED should probe the cases but failed to act due to alleged political bias linked to AIADMK’s alliance with the Centre.
AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathya dismissed the move as an “election stunt”, pointing to corruption cases against DMK ministers like Senthil Balaji and K. N. Nehru.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)