RK Nagar bypoll bribery case: MK Stalin demands criminal case against Palaniswami, ministers

Chennai: DMK leader MK Stalin on Sunday flayed the “delay in filing an EC-recommended” criminal case against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami and other ministers and warned that his party will approach the High Court if this was not done.

The Election Commission had ordered on 18 April the Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer to get registered a criminal complaint against Palaniswami and five ministers on charge of attempting to bribe voters during the R K Nagar assembly by-election in Chennai, Stalin said in a statement.

Stalin said the poll panel had also sent a 34-page report by the Income Tax Department to the state chief electoral officer and the chief secretary.

He said the Election Commission’s order for lodging a police complaint was obtained from the poll panel by an applicant under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Stalin said the delay in registering a complaint was nothing but disrespect to the Election Commission, a constitutional body.

Ahead of the bye-election to the R K Nagar constituency, the Income Tax Department had raided the residences and business premises of health minister C Vijayabaskar, his relatives as well as persons close to him and his business associates.

An Income Tax official then told IANS that they had seized cash totalling Rs 5.5 crore besides documents showing that Rs 89 crore changed hands in R K Nagar.

Subsequently, the Election Commission cancelled the by-election for the seat that fell vacant after the death of then chief minister J. Jayalalithaa in December 2016.