Tamil Nadu BJP leader Annamalai today, before he was arrested ahead of his proposed protest in front of Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Tasmac (Tasmac) head quarters in Egmore, Chennai, accused the State's Chief Minister of being the prime suspect in the massive corruption scandal linked to Tasmac.
Speaking to journalists from his car, Annamalai claimed that the Enforcement Directorate has uncovered only "the tip of the iceberg" in its ongoing investigation, estimating the fraud could be as high as Rs 40,000 crores. However, he refrained from preempting the ED's finndings, stating, "For now, I will say it's a 1000-crore fraud, just in line with what ED has said."
Annamalai argued that the CM, not Excise Minister Senthil blaji, should be listed as accused number one in the tasmac case. He drew parallel between Tamil Nadu and Delhi, where the then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal faces similar chargs, asserting the same must apply in Tamil nadu as well.
"Othewise, why the CM is orchestrating diversions to deflect public attention from the Tasmac raids and investigations, had he not been so agitated..... if there's nothing to hide?" He expressed confidence that the ED's final report on the Tasmac case would name the CM as the top accused. "When the truth comes out you will see," he said.
He pointed out that the Stats liquor business has surged over 48 per cent in the past four years - to over Rs 52,000 crore today - questioning, "can we give any example - any legal business or individual's assets in Tamil Nadu has grown this much in such a short time?"
The BJP leader also criticised the Tamil Nadu Police for arresting peaceful protesters, warning that his party's future demonstrations would happen without prior notice. "Next time we will protest in front of the CM's house or anywhere, may be on 22nd or any date," he said BJP initiated protests such as this would mark a new dawn in Tamil Nadu politics.
The tasmic investigation stemmed from several FIRs filed flagging issues such as tasmac outlets charging excess amounts over the MRP of liquor bottles, distillery companies paying kickbacks to secure supply orders, and senior Tasmac officials accepting bribes for staff transfers and postings and so on. ED escalated this into a money laundering case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act suspecting the generation of illicit funds.