DMK’s Stalin says I-T raids on Karnataka Cong minister ‘selective targeting’ by Modi govt

The BJP is selective in its war on corruption and is sparing parties close to the saffron brigade, DMK leader MK Stalin has said in the wake of a controversial income tax department raid on a Karnataka Congress minister.

The DMK working president said the government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not act over allegations of corruption when a group of AIADMK lawmakers were confined to a luxury seaside resort near Chennai ahead of a trust vote in the Tamil Nadu assembly earlier this year.

“Why didn’t the I-T department conduct such raids on the Koovathur resort near Chennai where more than 100 AIADMK legislators were made to stay in February?” Stalin said in a statement on Wednesday.

“There were reports of horse-trading and rates being fixed for MLAs. But the I-T department remained silent then,” Stalin said, referring to corruption charges against the faction led by chief minister E Palanisami.

Palanisami was locked in a bitter succession tussle with former Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam after J Jayalalitha’s death. Palanisami eventually edged out Panneerselvam to become the chief minister.

According to reports, gold was offered to the MLAs in exchange of their votes for the EPS government.

Charging the BJP of double standards, Stalin said “the BJP appeared to be tolerant of corruption of AIADMK leaders as there are reports that AIADMK could be joining (the) NDA government at the Centre”.

Stalin’s allegations came shortly after tax officials raided multiple properties linked to DK Shivakumar, a top minister in Karnataka who is hosting a group of party legislators from Gujarat to avoid a break in their ranks ahead of the August 8 Rajya Sabha elections.

The Congress has accused the BJP of using “money and muscle power” to engineer defections among its legislators in Gujarat, where senior party leader Ahmed Patel is seeking re-election to the Upper House.