- By Shibra Siddiqui
- Fri, 14 Mar 2025 04:21 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Amid the row over the removal of Rupee symbol from the Tamil Nadu Budget document, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday accused the MK Stalin-led DMK government in the state of orchestrating a Rs 1,000-crore scam through the state-run Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC). The BJP claims that ongoing Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids have uncovered significant financial irregularities within TASMAC's operations.
BJP leader Amit Malviya took to social media platform X to allege that Chief Minister Stalin is attempting to divert public attention from the ED's findings by spreading unfounded rumors about the three-language policy, the National Education Policy (NEP), delimitation, and the removal of the rupee symbol from budget documents. Malviya claimed that the ED has discovered documents indicating unaccounted cash transactions totaling Rs 1,000 crore, purportedly paid as kickbacks by distilleries.
"Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin is spreading baseless rumors about the three-language policy, NEP, delimitation, and the removal of the Rs symbol from the budget document to distract the public from the ongoing Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on TASMAC, the Liquor Minister, and liquor-supplying companies in Tamil Nadu," Malviya wrote on X.
"The ED has uncovered documents from distilleries revealing the generation of unaccounted cash amounting to Rs 1,000 crores, paid as kickbacks. The DMK has been exploiting common people to fill its party coffers by manipulating the system, and MK Stalin owes the public an explanation regarding who received these kickbacks. Given these developments and the massive corruption under his watch, it is becoming increasingly untenable for him to continue as Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister," his post on X stated.
In response to these allegations, Tamil Nadu Excise Minister V Senthil Balaji refuted the claims, stating that there is no basis for the alleged Rs 1,000 crore corruption and that there is no room for malpractice in TASMAC's tender processes. He emphasised that the ED has not specified the year in which any First Information Report (FIR) was registered, suggesting that the allegations are unfounded.
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In the name of searches, the ED has conducted searches but has not mentioned in their press release the year the FIR was registered. They have created a scene as if mistakes have happened in TASMAC recruitment. For the past four years, the bar tender has been online only. Without any basis, they have accused us of Rs 1,000 crore of corruption. There is no room for malpractices in the TASMAC tender," Balaji said.
The controversy intensified during the presentation of the Tamil Nadu Budget for 2025-26. Opposition parties, including the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the BJP, disrupted the budget session and staged a walkout. AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami accused the DMK government of inaction despite the ED raids and demanded that the government take moral responsibility for the alleged scam and resign.
On March 6, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Chennai, conducted search operations at various premises across many districts of Tamil Nadu under the provisions of PMLA, 2002, for various offences related to Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC) and its associated entities/persons.
