TV visuals showed Senthil Balaji feeling uneasy and crying. (File)
Chennai/New Delhi:
Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji’s health deterioration after his arrest has triggered a political row, with the ruling DMK accusing the BJP of misusing the central agencies to target leaders of rival parties.
Senthil Balaji is being treated at a Chennai hospital, where he underwent a coronary angiogram in the morning. He has been advised bypass surgery at the “earliest”.
Chief Minister MK Stalin, after visiting the minister at the hospital, hit out at the BJP, saying it was resorting to “politics of intimation.”
“DMK will not be cowed down by BJP’s intimidation. People are watching such oppression and will give a befitting reply in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” Mr Stalin said.
State minister P K Sekar Babu claimed there were “symptoms” that Mr Balaji was “tortured”.
Senthil Balaji was arrested late last night after day-long raids and hours of questioning. Mr Balaji is the Minister of Electricity, Prohibition and Excise, and the Karur District Secretary of the DMK.
Mr Senthil broke down while being taken to the hospital for a medical checkup by the probe agency officials.TV visuals showed Mr Balaji feeling uneasy and crying.
Responding to Mr Stalin’s charge, state BJP chief K Annamalai said the ED action was a culmination of a five-year probe into the cash for jobs scam.
He said the Supreme Court had allowed a police and ED probe into the matter recently. “That being the case, how is this political vendetta. Mr Stalin and his alliance party leaders should explain,” Mr Annamalai said.
Justifying Mr Balaji’s arrest, D Jayakumar alleged irregularities in the handling of liquor stock.
He urged the probe agency to ascertain Mr Balaji’s health status with the help of AIIMS and initiate further legal proceedings against him.