Madurai: Former minister P Moorthy has accused minister C T R Nirmal Kumar of levelling “false and baseless allegations” against him to divert attention from corruption and irregularities in departments under his control.The former registration and commercial taxes minister told reporters in Madurai on Sunday that Nirmal Kumar had failed to provide proper answers when reporters questioned him about alleged fraudulent registration of Palani temple land, complaints of bribes in appointing govt lawyers in district courts, and increase in electricity tariffs after the govt announced 200 units of free power.“Instead, he speaks about departments held by all ministers in Tamil Nadu and the politics of alliance parties,” Moorthy said.He alleged that Nirmal Kumar was repeatedly spreading false and baseless charges against him to conceal irregularities in the law and electricity departments. “He has falsely alleged that I appointed agents in all 589 registration offices in Tamil Nadu and received a 20% commission,” Moorthy said.He said govt revenue from the registration department increased from ₹94,000 crore to ₹1.68 lakh crore during his five-year tenure as minister. “I did not even speak over the phone to any registration official for personal needs or to make recommendations,” Moorthy said. “Can he produce evidence showing that I misused my authority to register even a single document illegally?” he asked.On Palani issue, Moorthy said records would contain specific markings preventing temple land from being registered in the name of private individuals. “ TVK ministers cannot claim a registration occurred unknowingly or accidentally. System flags, mandatory tokens and official scrutiny prevent bars properties from being registered,” he added.He alleged that land belonging to Palani temple, which had been recovered from encroachers and protected during the five years of DMK rule, was fraudulently registered under the TVK govt. “Strict legal action must be taken against whoever was behind it,” he said.“I have remained in the same party and served the people for 48 years. Nirmal Kumar has been with AIADMK, RSS and BJP. Everyone knows what he said earlier on the Thiruparankundram issue,” he added.
