Terming the searches carried out by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) on his premises an act of “vendetta politics”, former Transport Minister and Karur district secretary of the AIADMK M.R. Vijayabhaskar on Saturday said he would face the case legally.
Speaking to reporters days after the DVAC conducted searches on various premises linked to him and his associates in Karur and Chennai, Mr. Vijayabhaskar said a concerted campaign was being unleashed [by the ruling party] to tarnish his image by claiming that he had amassed wealth after becoming a Minister. “I do not own a house in Karur or Chennai. However, I have been running dyeing and textile units and a few other businesses for about 35 years, ever since my days as a Panchayat union secretary of the AIADMK,” he said.
Mr. Vijayabhaskar said a false case had been foisted, and that his lawyers were present when DVAC personnel conducted searches on his premises. While they did not find any incriminating documents, they seized cash.
“It pertains to the businesses and trade being run by me. We have accounted for the cash. We will produce the documents when we get the summons from the DVAC,” the former Minister said.
He said some functionaries of the AIADMK had been threatened with consequences if they refuse to join the DMK. “It is condemnable that the AIADMK men are being coerced to join the ruling party,” he said. Most officers, including those in the lower rung of the transport corporations, were shunted out soon after the DMK came to power, he said. The DMK’s “vendetta politics” and “misuse of power” was on expected lines, he said, adding that the undemocratic acts of the DMK government would not last long.
Reacting to the charges levelled by Mr. Vijayabhaskar, Law Minister S. Regupathi denied that the raid was an act of vendetta.
“The DVAC has been collecting evidence of wrongdoings. Action will be taken against Mr. Vijayabhaskar if there is tangible evidence,” Mr. Regupathy told reporters in Pudukkottai.
