Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday said that her government would not spare the corrupt and would take stern action against those involved in large-scale corruption in the Transport Department during the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) rule.
Responding to Communist Party of India (CPI) members M. Arumugam and S. Gunasekaran, who wanted the government to constitute a commission of inquiry into alleged irregularities and corruption in the department led by K.N. Nehru over the past five years, the Chief Minister said: “I will not act in haste, lest the objective be defeated. I measure every step I take after careful thought. Therefore, the government will take action after carefully weighing the corruption charges and in consultation with legal experts.”
To thumping of desks by the House, she further said that her government would not sit idle especially after the large-scale corruption in the department had been detailed by Transport Minister V. Senthil Balaji in the Assembly earlier.
Mr. Balaji alleged that though the department's recruitment norm 2.6 persons per bus, the DMK regime recruited hundreds of drivers and conductors in excess after collecting money from them.
He said that as many as eight cars were at the disposal of Mr. Nehru and each one of his personal assistants used two cars, costing Rs.5 crore to the government.
Another allegation
Another allegation against Mr. Nehru was that Rs 35 lakh had been spent for his visit to various bus depots in the State, though there were no records about these visits.
In Tiruchi, entry of heavy vehicles to a road was banned because Mr. Nehru felt it delayed his reaching his farmhouse.
