Chennai: Bharatiya Janata Party ‘s Tamil Nadu unit president K Annamalai on Sunday met governor R N Ravi with a party delegation and sought removal of two ministers from the DMK-led government over hooch deaths.
Following 22 deaths in the twin hooch tragedies, the BJP sought the dismissal of minister for minorities Gingee KS Masthan alleging that he is closely associated with the supplier of the spurious liquor, and minister for electricity, prohibition and excise Senthil Balaji for not discharging his duties and for his alleged role in the cash-for-jobs scam.
For the past one week the opposition BJP and their ally AIADMK have mounted pressure on the state government on the hooch deaths in Villupuram and Chengalpattu and minister Balaji. On Sunday, the BJP for the first time also made allegations against minister Masthan. The governor has already sought a report from chief secretary Irai Anbu on the 22 deaths and 50 others who are undergoing treatment in various hospitals. Six accused have been arrested in both cases, police said.
“The prime accused, in this case, is related to DMK,” Annamalai alleged on Sunday. “The man arrested in Chengalpattu is the brother of DMK’s mandal vice president. Maruvoor Raja, the primary source of supply of illicit liquor, has constantly appeared alongside Tamil Nadu minority affairs minister Thiru Gingee Masthan…Your Excellency, we request your kind intervention on this matter. Thiru Gingee Mastan and Thiru Senthil Balaji have failed to discharge their duties; they have to be removed from their ministerial position immediately,” Annamalai said in a memorandum.
Balaji has also been facing the heat after the Supreme Court last week allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to continue its probe against him in a case in which he is accused of taking bribes to provide jobs when he was the transport minister (2011-2015) in the previous AIADMK government. “After becoming the minister (in May 2021), he has been pulling strings to get rid of the case,” Annamalai accused him.
The BJP chief also claimed that a man, Kuppusamy, died in Thanjavur due to illicit liquor on Sunday.
The government has suspended senior police officers from Villupuram and Chengalpattu over the deaths. Deputy inspector general Ziaul Haque, who on May 15 was posted as the new DIG in the Villupuram range, on Sunday warned that strict action will be taken in this case.
Balaji had previously said that the deaths were unfortunate and that he would cooperate with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the investigation of the cash-for-jobs scam. Masthan has not reacted to the developments.
Annamalai said the state BJP unit will release a “white paper” in the next fortnight with a plan for how Tamil Nadu can close down 80% of shops of the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) which has a monopoly over wholesale and retail liquor sales. “We will conduct a conference in Villupuram because that’s where the most number of deaths have occurred,” Annamalai said. As many as 16 people in Villupuram district and six in Chengalpattu district died after they drank spurious liquor on May 13.
The AIADMK will go on a statewide protest on Monday and the party general secretary and leader of opposition Edappadi Palaniswami will march towards the Raj Bhavan to submit a list of complaints against the state government.
