Allies silent on crackdown

AIADMK’s ally PMK, which, in a way was also responsible for the raids, has preferred to be silent on the issue. Ramadoss's party was the first to petition the state governor against several AIADMK ministers during the previous regime, much before the DMK had submitted its dossier of over 100 pages on AIADMK ministers’ corruption to Raj Bhavan. Caught between alliance compulsion and crackdown against corruption, the PMK leadership, which is normally among the first to flag most issues, has not issued any statement. Unsurprisingly, netizens are having a field day, sarcastically thanking PMK for petitioning Governor against the AIADMK earlier.

Equally intriguing was the silence of a few other allies of the ruling DMK. TNCC president K S Alagiri has so far not reacted to the vigilance raids. VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan, a daring speaker, who does not hold back his views on controversial issues, was another mute spectator since Tuesday.