CHENNAI: Minister for energy and law R Nirmalkumar on Friday attacked the DMK, alleging that its “covert understanding” with the BJP had turned into an open alliance, and accused the opposition party of compromising its stand to protect its leaders and their alleged ill-gotten wealth.Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat, the minister said the DMK was the first party to provide political legitimacy to the BJP in TN and alleged that the DMK’s present position was driven by the need to protect itself from prosecution.“It was the DMK that first gave political legitimacy to the BJP in TN. Now, out of power, it has turned into a bonded labourer for the BJP to save their looted money,” he said, drawing a parallel with the political developments of 2001.The minister questioned DMK MP Kanimozhi’s participation in the Speaker’s tea gathering in Parliament. “Did Kanimozhi really have to attend a tea party just to raise seating arrangements in Parliament?” he asked. He also sought clarity from the DMK’s leadership on delimitation, including whether it would vote against the proposed Delimitation Bill.“DMK supported the anti-delimitation resolution in TN assembly, but it’s not openly expressing that they will not support the Bill in Parliament,” he said.On alleged irregularities during the previous administration, Nirmalkumar said the govt had documentary evidence relating to alleged corruption in TASMAC and illegal party funding. He said measures such as plugging the alleged Rs 10 overcharge on liquor bottles and auctioning fancy vehicle registration numbers helped check revenue leakage and generated an additional Rs 15,000 cr for the state exchequer.Clarifying the govt’s position on property tax, which attracted criticism from the opposition and the general public, the minister said there was no proposal to increase it anywhere. He alleged that ongoing audits aimed to detect irregularities dating back to the DMK regime, citing instances where penalties of Rs 10 lakh were allegedly settled for Rs 1 lakh.On the Cauvery dispute, the law minister said Karnataka still owed TN 37 TMC of water ahead of Monday’s Supreme Court hearing. “We will not compromise on our state’s rights in Cauvery issue,” he said.He criticised the previous govt’s investment strategy and said Tamil Nadu had emerged as a major investment destination. “The investors are forthcoming to invest in the state. ”He also ridiculed the AIADMK’s state-wide protest against the TVK govt over crop loans’ waiver and the inter-state water dispute, and said AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami organised the protest to take stock of his supporters in the party.
