DMK questions TN govt's silence on drug bust involving TVK cadres

DMK leaders questioned the Tamil Nadu government's silence on a major drug seizure involving TVK cadres. Separately, MDMK General Secretary Vaiko slammed the Chief Election Commissioner over the alleged deletion of voters from electoral rolls.

DMK Questions Govt's Silence on Drug Bust

DMK Advocate Wing Deputy Secretary I Paranthamen on Monday questioned the Tamil Nadu government's response to the seizure of 137 kg of methamphetamine in a case involving the arrest of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) cadres. Speaking to reporters in Chennai, Paranthamen said the state government and police had not issued a statement on the drug seizure case, questioning their response to the matter. “The Tamil Nadu government, the Chief Minister and the police department have not issued any statement. The DMK has questioned whether the Tamil Nadu government is functioning and whether the police are in sleep mode or action mode,” he said.

Calling for transparency in the state's anti-drug efforts, Paranthamen sought details of the functioning and expenditure of the Anti-Drug Task Force, which he said was formed after the present government assumed office. “More than 64 teams were appointed, and Rs 264 crore was allocated. The government should make public the expenditure incurred and the performance of these teams,” he said, urging the state government to issue a clear statement on the task force's work.

Stalin's 'Breaking Bad Party' Jibe

Earlier, DMK president and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday took a swipe at CM Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, calling it a "Breaking Bad party" after one of the party's functionaries was arrested in a methamphetamine seizure case. "It appears that while the Chief Minister has been lecturing from every stage about the 'eradication' (ozhippu) of drugs, this individual misunderstood the term as 'concealment' (olippu)—leading him to hide 135 kilograms of the narcotic substance methamphetamine. He was caught red-handed while at the peak of his operations as a carrier," Stalin wrote.

The remarks come after a party functionary was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in connection with a methamphetamine seizure in Nagapattinam on Friday. The DRI's Tiruchy zone arrested two persons, including N Boopalan (42), an advocate and TVK Nagapattinam district executive committee member, and seized over 100 kg of methamphetamine in Nagapattinam. The contraband was allegedly intended to be smuggled to Sri Lanka and distributed through a network of associates.

Vaiko Criticises CEC Over Voter Deletions

Meanwhile, MDMK General Secretary Vaiko on Monday criticised Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged deletions from electoral rolls. Vaiko backed protests by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and students against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that a large number of voters had been removed from electoral rolls. “India is witnessing a revolution, a democratic struggle by the CJP and students. They are protesting against the regressive attitude of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who is responsible for the deletion of over 13 crore voters from the electoral rolls,” Vaiko said, criticising what he described as the “regressive attitude” of the Chief Election Commissioner.

“He is the root cause of the murder of democracy,” Vaiko added. The MDMK leader further claimed that the other two Election Commissioners had raised objections to the CEC's decisions on 14 occasions, but that their concerns had been ignored.

“The other two Election Commissioners raised objections to the CEC's decisions 14 times, but he did not care about those objections. He is behaving like an agent of the present government,” Vaiko alleged.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)