Tamil Nadu’s Electricity and Prohibition Minister V. Senthil Balaji on Wednesday demanded clarity on the grounds for the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) March 6 raids on the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), alleging they were a politically motivated attack on the DMK government’s achievements.

Speaking during a budget debate in the Assembly, Balaji challenged the lack of transparency surrounding the operation, which targeted multiple locations across the state.

“Till today, there’s no explanation of what prompted these raids,” Balaji said, intervening as BJP legislator Vanathi Srinivasan raised the alleged multi-crore TASMAC scam. “Which FIR was considered? What year was it filed? Nothing has been disclosed.”

Without naming the ED, he accused unnamed detractors—widely interpreted as a jab at BJP state chief K. Annamalai—of orchestrating the raids to undermine the DMK’s record.

Balaji claimed the timing, just before the March 14 state budget, was strategic. “They couldn’t stomach our four-year achievements or the historic budget announcements,” he said. “With a magnifying glass, they searched for flaws, found none, and so turned to raids on unrelated places and people, using their agency to block our schemes from reaching the public.” He branded it a “vilification campaign” doomed to fail.

Countering Srinivasan’s critique, Balaji touted the DMK’s efforts to curb liquor sales, noting that 603 TASMAC outlets have shuttered since the party took power in 2021 as part of a phased reduction plan.

The minister’s defiance comes amid simmering tensions, with the ED yet to specify the FIRs or evidence—like reported irregularities in tenders and unaccounted cash transactions—driving its probe.