The five-day long extensive search operation carried out by the Income Tax department on the premises belonging to relatives, friends and associates of sidelined deputy general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) T.T.V. Dhinakaran was high on drama and intrigue given the secrecy and scale of the exercise. But it has also led to an unexpected development on the political front: the “solidarity” that many Opposition parties in the State have shown towards the beleaguered leader.
Seven months ago, when the I-T department conducted searches at various locations including the residences and business establishments of Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar and his close associates in connection with allegations of distribution of money to voters of the R.K. Nagar Assembly constituency which was to have bypoll in mid-April, the Opposition had demanded the Minister’s resignation/dismissal.
One important difference between the situation then and now is that any talk of the BJP aligning with the DMK would have been ridiculed in the past, whereas it would no longer be in the light of the “courtesy visit” of PM Narendra Modi to DMK president M. Karunanidhi’s residence a week ago.
Insisting that the I-T department’s action was independent of political events, K.S. Narendran, State general secretary of the BJP, says the latest round of searches, covering 187 sites, would have been planned over a long period of time and “even the Prime Minister might not have been kept informed of such operations.”
‘Centre not sincere’
However, he said, “If they [the Opposition] are really keen on fighting against corruption, they should support the government’s move. I can only call their attitude inexplicable. If you want me to put it in Tamil, it is ‘ Chidambara ragasiyam .’”
G. Ramakrishnan, State secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), says that even though his party’s stand has not been influenced by the meeting that Mr. Modi had with Mr. Karunanidhi, the Centre is not “sincere” in the drive against corruption. To substantiate his point, he wonders about the fate of several cases including that of seizure of about ₹ 570 crore from three containers on the eve of the Assembly elections (the CBI had submitted its closure report in the case). Mr. Ramakrishnan added that the CPI (M) was the first to demand confiscation of properties of jailed general secretary of the AIADMK (Amma) V.K. Sasikala immediately after the Supreme Court upheld her conviction and that of two others back in February.
Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) leader M.H. Jawahirullah argues that the searches are yet another example of the Centre’s “habit of using the I-T department against political opponents.” He does not foresee any possibility of the BJP and the DMK coming together.
However, V. Maitreyan, a prominent face of the AIADMK (Amma, Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, says: “Anything and everything in Tamil Nadu are viewed through political lens.” The Centre’s action has to be viewed as part of its drive against those who were said to have transferred huge amounts of money after demonetisation.
Reacting to the reported statement of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol Thirumavalavan that the searches took place in the light of reports of rapprochement between the ruling camp and Mr. Dhinakaran, the MP said “our ‘ dharmayuddham ’ (fight for justice) has been against the family of Sasikala and it will continue.”
