AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami has no locus standi to comment on Electricity Minister V. Senthilbalaji’s arrest and demand his resignation, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters at the DMK headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, he termed Mr. Senthilbalaji’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate “murder of democracy”. Even after Mr. Senthilbalaji’s assurance that he would cooperate in the investigation, the ED tortured him for 18 hours without even providing him basic assistance, he alleged. “It is an attempt to bring a bad name to the DMK before the Lok Sabha election and build a false narrative that the DMK is a corrupt party,” Mr. Subramanian said. “Also, it is an old case, which happened in 2015 during the AIADMK government. Though the complaints have been withdrawn, the BJP [government] has taken action now as part of its intimidatory tactics,” he said.
