The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday demanded the release of all its volunteers who protested seeking action in the case of an agriculture department official committing suicide in Tirunelveli and said the case warranted a CBI investigation.
Rampant
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In a statement, AAP leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashanth Bhushan said the recent death, allegedly suicide, of an honest engineer S Muthukumarasamy highlights once again the rampant corruption in every department in Tamil Nadu.
The engineer is said to have been hounded by the Agriculture Minister's office to fill some positions irregularly and not in keeping with norms.
“That there is probably some truth in these allegations is evident from the fact that after the public outcry over the engineer's death, Agriculture Minister S S Krishnamoorthy has been divested of his portfolio. Jayalalithaa [AIADMK general secretary] has also divested him of all party responsibilities,” the statement said.
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Case against
AAP cadre
Also the leaders said that it was regrettable that AAP volunteers who had gone to the Chief Minister's house peacefully on March 21 to present a petition on this issue were not allowed to do so and were instead arrested and charged with various offences.
Bail opposed
“On March 25 when their petition for bail came up, the State government opposed the bail application claiming falsely that the volunteers had rioted,” the leaders claimed.