Chennai: BJP will not succeed in its ‘Delhi-like strategy’ to target Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin and trap him in the Tasmac issue, said state law minister S Regupathy on Monday.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had levelled 1,000 crore corruption charges against Tasmac, a govt-owned corporation selling liquor in the state.
State BJP president K Annamalai and cadres were detained by the police in Chennai on Monday when they attempted to lay siege to the Tasmac headquarters in Chennai on Monday. They were later released and BJP allies condemned the detention.
Speaking to reporters, Regupathy said BJP was using ED to threaten those who did not heed its demand. The minister condemned Annamalai for calling the chief minister “A1 accused” in the Tasmac case.
He demanded to know if Annamalai would accept it if he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “A1 accused” in the corruption case involving Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani.
“How many days have passed since searches in Tasmac liquor shops were conducted? ED said 1,000 crore, but where is the proof,” Regupathy asked.
Asked if it was not undemocratic to arrest BJP leaders before they could protest, he said it was usual to conduct preventive arrests when there is prior intimation. “We have faced many preventive arrests,” he said.
Annamalai, who spoke to reporters, said, “They are scared we will gherao all those, including the chief minister, considered accused in the Tasmac issue.”
He alleged DMK faced the Lok Sabha elections last year with Tasmac funds and will face the 2026 assembly election too with it.
Meanwhile, VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan, who spoke to reporters at the Chennai airport, said, “It is our stand that Tamil Nadu should be liquor-free and we welcome anyone who voices the same opinion.”
BJP protested in more than 30 places, and around 1,000 BJP cadres, including Annamalai and former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, were arrested. They were detained in marriage halls for just over 12 hours and released at 7 pm.