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Three persons have been arrested on Wednesday, July 1, for allegedly attempting to bribe a ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA with Rs 35 crore to influence his vote on a proposed resolution against the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker.
The arrests were made following a complaint filed by the TVK legislator Dr N Elaiyaraja, who represents the Uthangarai Assembly constituency in Krishnagiri district. According to a statement issued by the police, Elaiyaraja was contacted over the phone a few days ago by a man identified as Thirunavukkarasu.
The caller allegedly introduced himself as the head of a political survey firm, called Indian Political Democratic Strategies (IPDS), and said he was reaching out on behalf of certain members of a “major political party” and sought a meeting with the MLA.
However, the MLA declined the request, citing prior commitments. The police said Thirunavukkarasu later contacted him again and allegedly claimed that a resolution would be moved against the Speaker in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
During the conversation, he allegedly urged the MLA to act in their favour during the voting despite being a ruling party member and offered him up to Rs 35 crore in return. Police said Elaiyaraja rejected the offer and told the caller not to contact him again.
The complaint further alleged that Thirunavukkarasu threatened the MLA, warning of consequences for him and his family if the conversation was disclosed. Based on the complaint submitted to the Greater Chennai Police Commissioner on June 29, a case was registered at the D1 Triplicane police station.
Following an investigation, police arrested Thirunavukkarasu of Arumbakkam in Chennai, Naresh from Trichy and Thiagarajan of Medavakkam in Chennai. The police further stated that the investigation revealed that V Ashok Kumar, brother of former minister and Incumbent Coimbatore South MLA V Senthil Balaji, had met Naresh in Chennai.
According to the police, Thirunavukkarasu contacted Elaiyaraja based on the instructions of Senthil Balaji and Ashok Kumar.
Reacting to the arrests, Electricity Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar said that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) had lost the people's support and that its allies had distanced themselves because of the ruling party's actions. “The people of Tamil Nadu have voted against the DMK. Your allies have left you because of your actions,” he said.
Contrasting TVK’s election spending with that of the DMK, Nirmal Kumar said, “Our MLA spent at most Rs 3 to 4 lakh to contest the elections, unlike you, who spent Rs 70 crore in each constituency.”
He added that TVK would continue to contest elections in the same manner and was ready to face the fresh elections “even today or tomorrow”.
