Chennai: Releasing what he called “DMK Files”, which contained allegations that top DMK leaders and their family members had cumulatively amassed wealth to the tune of Rs 1.34 lakh crore, BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai on Friday said he would approach the CBI for a probe against Chief Minister M K Stalin in connection with an alleged corruption ways back in 2010 when he was Deputy Chief Minister in his father M Karunanidhi’s cabinet.
DMK legal wing secretary R S Bharathi dared Annamalai to produce proof of his allegations or face individual suits from the leaders and their family members against whom he levelled charges of financial impropriety.
Chennai metro rail project bribery allegation
According to Annamalai, in 2010, the tender was tweaked for a Chennai Metro Rail project at the last minute to favour the Indian arm of a particular multinational company which had faced action abroad for alleged bribery attempts to fetch contracts. “I charge that as quid pro quo, Rs 200 was paid through shell companies as election fund to Stalin. Since the Metro Rail also involves use of central funding, I will file a complaint with the CBI seeking a probe,” he told journalists, while refusing to answer any queries until a week so that they could go through his charges, documents for which were uploaded online.
He alleged that some of the top guns of the ruling party and amily members of Stalin including his son Udhayanidhi Stalin, son-in-law Sabareesan, sister Kanimozhi and relatives Kalanithi Maran and Dayanidhi Maran, had acquired ill-gotten wealth. He claimed many of them directly or indirectly owned educational institutions and multiple companies.
Annamalai: Will not spare any party
Claiming he would not spare any party that had ruled Tamil Nadu, Annamalai said before the next parliamentary polls he would expose their corruption and if these parties did not want him to go ahead, then they could talk to the BJP’s Delhi leadership and get him replaced.
At the same, time Annamalai exposed himself to attacks when he said that as party president he incurred about Rs 7 lakh to Rs 8 lakh as monthly expenses but most of these were taken care of by friends. He said while one friend paid rent for his posh bungalow, where he had moved due to security reasons, another took care of the salary of his three personal assistants and one had given him his car. The party paid for the fuel expenses.
DMK leaders hit back wondering who are these friends who would pay for a whopping expenses of Rs 7 lakh upwards per month and for what reason.
Expensive wrist watch during Rafale deal
Annamalai also released what he described as evidence of him purchasing an expensive wrist watch, a special limited edition product launched during the Rafale deal. Responding to the DMK’s demand last year for producing the bill for the watch, he said only two persons in India had the limited edition watch – one in Mumbai and another his friend in Coimbatore. He had bought the watch from his friend in May 2021 paying Rs 3 lakh, he claimed while reading out a the “serial number” of the watch.
However, the DMK released videos pointed out that while last year he claimed the serial number of the watch was ‘149’, on Friday he claimed the number was ‘147’.
