Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai has been relentlessly cornering the Stalin government with his DMK files. So far, he has released three DMK files to expose the rampant corruption scandals taking place in the Stalin regime. Now, ahead of his planned protest against the TASMAC corruption, the Chennai Police has taken him into custody on Monday morning, highlighting that the DMK government has been rattled by his exposes under the DMK files 1, 2 and 3.
VIDEO | Chennai: Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai (@annamalai_k) detained during party’s protest over the alleged TASMAC scam. #TamilNaduPolitics #ChennaiNews
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/uhpN0tHEeF
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 17, 2025
Third tape: Conversation between DMK MP & former Min. Thiru A Raja (the prime accused in the 2G case) & MS Jaffar Sait, a former chief of TN State Intelligence. #DMKFiles3
Manipulating the CBI probe with consensus by use of cooked-up theories, spectrums allocated to parties… pic.twitter.com/hv2prpgvJo
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) January 27, 2024
Notably, the BJP state unit had planned to stage a demonstration outside the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) head office in Egmore, highlighting financial mismanagement amounting to Rs 1,000 crore.
Annamalai was stopped by the police about a kilometre from his residence in Akkarai and detained before he could reach the protest site.
Earlier in the day, senior BJP leader and former Governor of Telangana and Puducherry, Tamilisai Soundararajan, was also taken into custody from her residence. The police cordoned off her house with heavy security to prevent her participation in the protest. A scuffle broke out between the BJP workers and police officials when she was detained.
BJP MLAs Vanathi Srinivasan, the national president of the BJP Mahila Morcha, and Saraswathi were also arrested near the State Secretariat. In addition, BJP functionary Vinoj P. Selvam was detained in T. Nagar, along with a group of party workers in Taramani.
The police also arrested BJP members and cadres who had gathered at Rajarathinam Stadium with plans to march toward the TASMAC head office in the CMDA building, Egmore.
Following the arrests, Annamalai took to social media to condemn the police action, questioning the government’s response.
He wrote, “Is it because we announced the protest democratically and in advance that you are able to take such cowardly actions? What will you do if we launch a protest one day without prior notice?”
The BJP has consistently accused the ruling DMK of misusing TASMAC revenues for political gains.
Annamalai referenced the 2023 arrest of Senthil Balaji, Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Electricity, Prohibition, and Excise, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case.
He pointed out that after a year in custody, Senthil Balaji was reinstated with the same ministerial portfolio, which he claimed highlighted the DMK’s reliance on TASMAC funds.
Also Read: Anna University rape case: Annamalai vows to uproot DMK, pledges to walk barefoot
Recently, the Enforcement Directorate(ED) conducted searches at TASMAC headquarters, further intensifying the BJP’s allegations against the state government.
With the arrests of senior BJP leaders and the party’s aggressive stance on the issue, the political battle over the TASMAC corruption scandal is expected to escalate in the coming days.
