DMK workers stop I-T team at TN minister’s home, damage vehicle

The searches were carried out at properties in Chennai, Coimbatore and Karur districts. “Around 40 premises linked to Balaji and his brother Ashok are under inspection since morning. The properties mostly belong to Balaji, his brother, and their close allies and friends,” said a senior I-T official.

Properties of Thangaraj, a quarry owner and friend of Ashok, and Senthil Karthik, a real-estate businessman based in Coimbatore and friend of Balaji, are also under scrutiny, the official said.

VIDEO | Supporters of Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji vandalise a car in Karur where Income Tax searches are underway. pic.twitter.com/8Pt8CZJByY

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 26, 2023

A four-time MLA since 2006, Balaji holds Electricity, Prohibition and Excise portfolios. “Such raids are not new to us as similar action was taken during the last phase of the campaigning for the Assembly polls… In most places where the searches were conducted, the individuals are already paying tax; they are not tax evaders,” he told reporters.

“If someone has done something wrong, please take action. But is it fair to scale the wall and enter the house,” he said, referring to allegations that I-T officials tried to scale the compound wall of his rented accommodation in Karur.

Earlier in the day, more than 200 DMK workers, including Karur Mayor Kavitha Ganesan, confronted the I-T officials, demanding that they show their identity cards. Matters escalated when the search team allegedly refused to show the identity cards.

The DMK workers damaged the vehicle in which the I-T team arrived, following which police were called to restore order.

Along with a delegation of women functionaries & leaders of @BJP4TamilNadu, we met the Hon Governor Thiru RN Ravi avargal requesting for dismissal of Thiru Gingee Mastan from the council of Ministers for his close association with the illicit liquor supplier responsible for the… pic.twitter.com/SSJ6kAFn9F

— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) May 21, 2023

“We requested the I-T officials to follow basic protocols and ensure necessary safety before they search a sitting minister’s residence,” said an official at the Karur SP’s office.

“Neither the police nor the CRPF were informed about the searches. They landed up at the minister’s brother’s house in plainclothes, in a taxi car and tried to scale the compound wall. Lucky that they were not physically attacked by the angry mob,” the official said.

Later in the day, the I-T officials filed a complaint with the police.

The DMK alleged the BJP was using central agencies such as the I-T to target Opposition parties. DMK organisation secretary R S Bharathi claimed the BJP was targeting the DMK because of the M K Stalin-led government’s popularity in Tamil Nadu.

BJP state unit president K Annamalai slammed the state government over the Karur incident, saying, “Law and order has failed.” He sought stringent action against those who stopped the I-T team.

A leader with considerable clout in Karur, Balaji joined the DMK ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Previously, he was an influential minister in the AIADMK Cabinet.

The I-T searches were launched amid allegations against Balaji – an alleged cash-for-job scam besides alleged discrepancies and lack of transparency in running the cash-rich Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited, which sells foreign liquor in the state.