IT raids were unleashed to intimidate and paralyze us politically: E V Velu

CHENNAI: State highways minister E V Velu on Tuesday criticized the five-day Income Tax raids at places related to him and others and said that the raids were unleashed to intimidate and paralayze the DMK politically.

Briefing media persons at his native Tiruvannamalai late Tuesday night, Velu said that he was duty bound to clarify on the issue as some people have gone to the height of their imagination and floated stories to assassinate his character.

“I am ready to own responsibility and answer if at least a paise was seized from my home or wife’s place or my two children’s places or my educational institutions or places related to me. Not a paise has been seized from our places,” Velu claimed.

I don’t know who Abiramani Ramanathan is?

“Somewhere, someone is doing business and making money. Someone might come and meet me in my capacity as a state minister. How am I responsible for the money they possess? How can you associate links between them and I ?” he wondered.

Denying any association with real estate firms Casa Grande and Appasamy, Velu also said, “I do not know Abiram Ramanthan at all. I don’t know him personally. I never had the opportunity to socialize with him. I might have visited an Abirami theatre in the distant past.”

DMK will not be frightened:

My PA threatened to the extent of shedding tears

Reiterating that neither he nor DMK would be scared by the raids, Velu borrowed the words of his cabinet colleague Udhayanidhi Stalin and said that the agencies like IT have become a wing of the BJP.

“They are unleashing such raids against us owing to the fear of the approaching Parliamentary elections. I wont say that IT raids are wrong. It is their duty. In the name of IT raids, my PA Subramani, who manages the files, was asked questions linking me. He has been under secretary. He has been forced to such an extent that he shedded tears. My driver was isolated for four days and asked many questions related to me. Is it wrong to be a minister’s driver?” Velu said.

IT officers are just arrows fired from somewhere

Claiming that he, his wife and his children were income tax assessees, he said, “They were subjected to mental pressure by the IT dept. They (IT) searched the guest house I was in at my college thoroughly. Questions were posed to people in Villupuram, vandavasi, Karur and Kovai and many places of Tiruvannamalai. I am not angry with them. They (IT officers) are just arrows. People who fired the arrows are elsewhere,” he added.

Asserting that he was duty bound to answer even if one person, be it even the opposition, accused him of taking a penny as bribe, Velu said that he only possessed land measuring 48.33 acre and house in Chennai.