BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan on Wednesday denied her party’s involvement in T.T.V. Dhinakaran’s arrest following Opposition charge that it was a politically-motivated move orchestrated by the BJP.
CPI State secretary R. Mutharasan had said that since former chief minister Jayalalithaa was admitted to the hospital, the BJP’s interference in Tamil Nadu politics was on the rise.
“I will go so far as to say that AIADMK has been destroyed by them,” said Mr. Mutharasan.
However, he was of the opinion that if Mr. Dhinakaran has committed a crime, he should be punished for it.
“There is no doubt that those committing crimes should be punished. At the same time, politically motivated actions are not good for our democracy,” he said.
Ms. Soundararajan was defiant in her rebuttal. “People say the BJP is behind this. Yes, the BJP is behind this: because no one can escape after committing a crime under the BJP government,” she said.
‘Dangerous allegation’
She went on to allege that Mr. Dhinakaran had brought shame on the State by being embroiled in the bribery case.
“Those who committ a crime have been arrested based on evidence. However, a dangerous allegation — that the BJP is responsible for this arrest — has been made by the leaders of Communist parties. I condemn this,” she said.
In a statement, Tamil Maanila Congress president G.K. Vasan — whose party is in an alliance with the O. Panneerselvam-faction of the AIADMK — said that more details about why Mr. Dhinakaran was arrested were yet to be made public.
Manithaneya Makkal Katchi president M.H. Jawahirullah alleged that both the O. Panneerselvam as well as the E. Palaniswami factions of the AIADMK are puppets of the BJP.
