Former Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin on Thursday, October 29, accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay of engaging in “vendetta politics” after the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) conducted searches at 25 locations linked to former Minister and DMK leader KN Nehru in connection with an alleged cash-for-jobs scam in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department.
In a social media post, Stalin accused Vijay of inducting “corrupt politicians” into the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) while pursuing cases against former DMK Ministers and described the action as “Vettri Vendetta Politics”.
“Having made Tamil Nadu unsafe for women, children and the elderly, the Chief Minister is resorting to breaking news, roadshows and other publicity tactics to divert public attention from the deteriorating law and order situation,” Stalin said.
He further claimed that the raids and arrests were intended to provide Vijay with an opportunity to deliver “punch dialogues” during the campaign for the Trichy East bye-election.
“His vendetta politics will be defeated in the court of law and in the court of public opinion,” he said.
The DVAC conducted simultaneous searches at 25 premises across Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, Namakkal, Vellore and Tirunelveli, on Thursday, October 29. The searches were carried out in connection with alleged irregularities in the recruitment of 2,538 candidates to various posts in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department during 2024-25, when Nehru was holding the portfolio.
According to an official statement issued by the DVAC, the agency seized 170 documents and 13 electronic devices during the searches. A DVAC team headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) arrived at Nehru's residence in Trichy's Thillai Nagar, around 7 am. Nehru was present at the residence when the searches began. Several DMK functionaries and supporters gathered outside the premises as the operation continued.
The searches at Nehru's residence lasted nearly eight hours. The agency also searched the residence of DMK town secretary Murali at Thuraiyur and the residence of Mohanraj at Manapparai. Searches were conducted at two other locations in Srirangam and Tiruvanaikoil in the district.
The premises belonging to Nehru's brother on Trichy Road and at GV Residency in Coimbatore were also searched. In Chennai, the DVAC searched his brother's residence in RA Puram.
In Namakkal, officials searched the residence of former DMK MLA Ramalingam at MG Nagar, Mohanur Road. They also visited the house of Durai, a relative of Nehru, but it was found locked.
The searches extended to premises linked to former DMK MLA from Vellore's Anaicut constituency AP Nandakumar and industrialist J Sekar Reddy, a former member of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), at Katpadi in Vellore.
The DVAC registered a case against Nehru and seven others on June 5, based on a complaint and documents forwarded by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The case followed a Madras High Court directive on February 20, which ordered the state's anti-corruption agency to investigate the allegations.
In its October 2025 communication to the then Director General of Police, the ED alleged large-scale corruption around Rs 634 crore in the recruitment of 2,538 candidates to posts including assistant engineers, junior engineers and town planning officers in the MAWS Department.
The latest searches came after the Madras High Court dismissed Nehru's review petition on October 26, challenging the order permitting the investigation. Nehru subsequently moved the Supreme Court on October 28 by filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the High Court's order.
There is also a separate case registered on September 4 by the DVAC's Special Investigation Cell in which Nehru and 12 others were accused of allegedly manipulating tenders for contracts worth more than Rs 1,020 crore and collecting bribes between 2021 and 2025.
The latest action also comes a day after the Chennai police's Central Crime Branch arrested former Minister and DMK leader Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi in connection with an alleged private school approvals scam.
Reacting to Thursday's searches, Nehru described the action as a "diversionary tactic" by the TVK government amid an alleged spike of crimes in the State and a jailbreak in Theni.
Speaking to reporters outside his residence after the searches concluded, he said the DVAC officials had not questioned him during the operation. He also said that the team had taken away a couple of laptops belonging to his brother Manivannan, but no documents had been seized.
Nehru said the DMK had faced several cases during the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government led by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and would similarly face cases under the present TVK government.
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