Chennai, Mar 16 (UNI) The nascent Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) of Kollywood actor Vijay
on Sunday demanded a fair probe into the alleged Rs 1,000 crore irregularities unearthed by
the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in the state-owned TASMAC.
In a statement here said only a deep investigation will bring to light the involvement of small
fishes to giant whales in this scam.
He also took a dig at ruling DMK's claim of winning 200 seats in the 2026 Assembly elections
and said they were making such claims only by using the money from such irregularities.
However, Vijay said, the DMK's plan to retain power would not materialise and the people
would unseat it in 2026 polls.
It may be noted that ED had conducted raids for three days at the premises of several
private distilleries and TASMAC office.
Based on the evidence collected during the raids, the ED said the searches at premises
of several private distilleries and TASMAC head office in the city and across Tamil Nadu,
has revealed massive irregularities to the tune of over Rs 1,000 crores.
It said the collusion between distilleries and bottling firms having indulged in fraudulent
measures have come to light in this irregularities.
The raids also revealed a network where unaccounted cash was deliberately generated
through inflated and bogus expenses and subsequently utilized for purposes leading to
huge profits.
It said ED has conducted search operations at various premises across many
districts of Tamil Nadu from March six under the provisions of Prevention of
Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, for various offences related to the
Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC) and its associated
entities/persons.
The ED initiated investigation on the basis of multiple FIRs registered under
various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 related to various issues
in the TASMAC.
These FIRs fall into the categories of TASMAC shops collecting excess amount
than the actual MRP; Distillery companies offering kickbacks to TASMAC officials
for supply orders; involvement of Senior officials of TASMAC in collection of bribes
from the Retail TASMAC outlets and for transfer and posting of TASMAC Staff, etc.
However, Tamil Nadu Minister for Electricity, Prohibition, and Excise V. Senthilbalaji
dismissed the ED's claim of Rs 1,000 crore fraud and said the raids were done with
ulterior motives to tarnish the image of Chief Minister M K Stalin for his strident
opposition to Centre's attempt to impose NEP, three-language formula and the
proposed delimitation exercise based on population.
Stating that the ED has made these allegations without any evidence, the Minister
he said the Centre has misused the ED to conduct the raids and that he would face
the charges legally.
It was an attempt to tarnish the image of the Chief Minister who enjoys the goodwill
and confidence of the people.
He also asserted that there was no scope for irregularities or malpractices as claimed
by the ED as all the tender process were done in a transparent manner.
UNI GV 1750