Senthilbalaji targeted because he demolished AIADMK fort: RS Bharathi

CHENNAI: DMK organising secretary R S Bharathi on Friday attributed political motives to the Income Tax raids at places related to State Electricity Minister Senthilbalaji and said that the minister was being targeted because he demolished AIADMK's (political) forte.

Talking to media persons at DMK headquarters Anna Arivalayam, Bharathi said that the Modi regime was dreaming that it could exact political revenge against opposition parties by unleashing Enforcement Directorate, CBI and Income Tax department.

Remarking that the devastating defeat suffered despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hectic campaign in Karnataka has triggered fear and panic among the BJP, Bharathi said that chief minister M K Stalin's successful foreign trip has drawn national attention. "Unable to digest the reports of the CM fetching investments to the state, they have conducted a raid today in his absence," added Bharathi.

Recalling Annamalai's recent forecast against Senthil Balaji, the DMK organizing secretary said that the BJP and Annamalai are meticulously targeting Senthil Balaji to stifle him because he secured a big victory in urban local body polls in the same Coimbatore and Karur districts where the AIADMK won big in 2021 Assembly polls.

Is Annamalai an IT or CBI director?

Asked if the heckling of IT officials was right, he said, "I don't say what happened there is right. It is wrong. But we stopped it immediately. We brought the cops and got them dispersed."

On whether he considers it political vendetta, he said, "I do not call it political vendetta. I challenge them. It is not wrong to raid people who engage in irregularities. We don't bother. If you raid somone after Annamalai makes a statement, I wonder if he is the director of CBI or income tax? Who is he? Hence, the doubt."

Police not informed

Claiming that local police would be intimated during such raids, but, the police were not informed for today's raids, " Bharathi wondered if the government acted when unrest and chaos broke out during raids at former minister Vijayabaskar's residence in the previous AIADMK regime.

"When they (IT) come without informing the local police, how will we know if they are really IT sleuths? It is normal to suspect if they had come to rob or murder someone. When someone storms into my house at 12midnight, I would be scared. So, some incidents might have happened in self-defense. As soon as it came to my knowledge, I informed Senthil Balaji I told him that no DMK member must be present there and immediately they dispersed, " he clarified.

Alleging that the opposition was trying to project a law and order breakdown in the state by charging that IT sleuths were attacked, the DMK organizing secretary said, "Let them (IT) conduct as many raids as they want. We don't bother. Our CM does not hesitate to act on any person committing a mistake. Let the IT officials initiate action. Everyone knows what kind of raids they are. The opposition parties have pushed a gear up after the Karnataka polls. To thwart that, they are unleashing such agencies on them."