The AIADMK delegation meets Governor T N Ravi.
Credit: X/@AIADMKOfficial
Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s principal opposition party, AIADMK, on Tuesday alleged corruption to the tune of a whooping Rs 4 lakh crore has taken place in over 20 government departments after Chief Minister M K Stalin assumed office in May 2021.
Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami asked Governor R N Ravi to constitute a Special Investigation Commission headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court to conduct a probe.
In a detailed memorandum submitted to Ravi, Palaniswami alleged that the DMK government functions like a “private corporate syndicate” rather than a democratic government and submitted “detailed evidence” on corruption in each department.
“For the past 56 months, the DMK family has occupied the corridors of power and indulged in brazen loot running into crores, pushing Tamil Nadu into an unprecedented debt trap. As a responsible Opposition, we have placed these facts before the Governor and demanded a comprehensive investigation,” Palaniswami told reporters here.
He claimed that Tamil Nadu has been pushed into severe financial distress, with the government borrowing nearly Rs 1 lakh crore every year and increasing the state’s debt burden by over Rs 4 lakh crore. “This reckless borrowing and mismanagement stands as proof of the DMK government’s administrative incompetence,” the LoP said.
Latching onto a purported audio clip of IT Minister P T R Palanivel Thiaga Rajan which said the DMK looted Rs 30,000 crore, with the money allegedly benefiting the Chief Minister’s son and son-in-law, Palaniswami sought to know if this was the scale of corruption in one year, one can only imagine the magnitude of loot over 56 months.
According to the “corruption list” submitted by the AIADMK to governor, Municipal Administration and Drinking Water Supply department tops the list with alleged corruption to the tune of Rs 64,000 crore, closely followed by Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (Rs 60,000 crore), Highways and Minor Ports (Rs 60,000 crore), and Electricity (Rs 55,000 crore).
The party alleged corruption to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore in Prohibition and Excise, Registration (Rs 20,000 crore), Highways (Rs 20,000 crore), Water Resources (Rs 17,000 crore), and Industries (Rs 8,000 crore).
Palaniswami alleged that corruption has become the hallmark of the DMK government, resulting in the collapse of governance, breakdown of law and order, and lack of safety for the people.
The party demanded that action be initiated not only against corrupt DMK ministers but also against the officials who facilitated and enabled these acts of corruption.