The M.K. Stalin government in Tamil Nadu is facing one crisis after another with the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) targetting its Ministers. After arresting V. Senthilbalaji, now a Minister without portfolio, in an alleged money laundering case last month, this week the agency searched the premises of party bigwig and Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy and his son and MP Gautham Sigamani, in a similar case linked to irregularities in mining, registered years ago. The Minister was subjected to intense overnight questioning at the office of the ED on Monday and the questioning of different parties is underway with breaks in between.
While Mr. Stalin has thrown his weight behind both the Ministers, the ED on Wednesday focused its investigative attention on Fisheries Minister Anitha R Radhakrishnan, who, like Mr. Senthilbalaji, was accused of committing irregularities while in the erstwhile Jayalalithaa Cabinet. The agency has also moved the Thoothukudi Principal District Court to get a green light to assist the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption in a disproportionate assets case against him.
Editorial | Selective prosecution: on the Enforcement Directorate and T.N. Ministers
