<p>DMK Rajya Sabha member T.M.Selvaganapathy resigned from parliament Friday after being convicted in a cheating case and being sentenced to undergo two years rigorous imprisonment.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Speaking to reporters at Dharmapuri, around 310 km from here, Selvaganapathy said as a person who respects the law, he has put in his papers as a member of Rajya Sabha following his conviction and sentencing by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court Thursday.<br /><br />It is a testing time for him in politics, he added.<br /><br />Along with him, the CBI court here sentenced four others including two retired IAS officers for two years rigorous imprisonment and a fined them Rs.25,000 each.<br /><br />The case related to the time when Selvaganapathy was minister for rural development and local administration in the AIADMK government (1991-1996).<br /><br />According to the CBI, Selvaganapathy, IAS officers J.T. Acharyulu and M. Sathyamurthy and three others - M. Krishnamurthy, A. Arokiaraj and T. Bharathi - conspired to cheat the central and the state governments between 1995-1996, causing a wrongful loss of Rs.2.3 million to the exchequer.<br /><br />The charge was that Selvaganapathy and others ordered construction/erection of cremation sheds, through cooperative societies under Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY), despite this not being an identified item of work under the scheme.<br /><br />Further, under the JRY scheme, no advance payments should be made - a rule which they flouted.<br /><br />However, the convicts entrusted the work to Karungulam Cooperative Society for construction of cremation sheds in Nagapattinam district and payments were made through demand drafts.<br /><br />The sub-standard work was executed through sub-contractors and not in conformity with the specifications to encash the demand drafts.<br /><br />During the trial, Arokiaraj died and the charge against him was abated.<br /></p>
<p>DMK Rajya Sabha member T.M.Selvaganapathy resigned from parliament Friday after being convicted in a cheating case and being sentenced to undergo two years rigorous imprisonment.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Speaking to reporters at Dharmapuri, around 310 km from here, Selvaganapathy said as a person who respects the law, he has put in his papers as a member of Rajya Sabha following his conviction and sentencing by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court Thursday.<br /><br />It is a testing time for him in politics, he added.<br /><br />Along with him, the CBI court here sentenced four others including two retired IAS officers for two years rigorous imprisonment and a fined them Rs.25,000 each.<br /><br />The case related to the time when Selvaganapathy was minister for rural development and local administration in the AIADMK government (1991-1996).<br /><br />According to the CBI, Selvaganapathy, IAS officers J.T. Acharyulu and M. Sathyamurthy and three others - M. Krishnamurthy, A. Arokiaraj and T. Bharathi - conspired to cheat the central and the state governments between 1995-1996, causing a wrongful loss of Rs.2.3 million to the exchequer.<br /><br />The charge was that Selvaganapathy and others ordered construction/erection of cremation sheds, through cooperative societies under Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY), despite this not being an identified item of work under the scheme.<br /><br />Further, under the JRY scheme, no advance payments should be made - a rule which they flouted.<br /><br />However, the convicts entrusted the work to Karungulam Cooperative Society for construction of cremation sheds in Nagapattinam district and payments were made through demand drafts.<br /><br />The sub-standard work was executed through sub-contractors and not in conformity with the specifications to encash the demand drafts.<br /><br />During the trial, Arokiaraj died and the charge against him was abated.<br /></p>