CM celebrates accused Senthilbalaji as martyr, emboldens criminals and drug mafia, slams EPs

CHENNAI: Opposition Leader Edappadi K Palaniswami lashed out at Prime Minister MK Stalin’s social media post welcoming former minister V Senthil Balaji, who was out on bail in a cash-for-jobs ED case, and slammed the CM for being a hero welcomed to a person accused of fraud.

The current dispensation has turned a blind eye to drug trafficking in the state, EPS said. The state has turned into a hub for illegal activities, the AIADMK general secretary alleged.

“When the CM himself praises his party functionary who has been granted bail in a criminal case and portrays him as a martyr, it is not surprising to see anti-social elements roaming freely in the state with new vigor,” Palaniswami said in a statement. The former Chief Minister was referring to the rousing welcome given to former minister Senthil Balaji, who was part of AIADMK in the past, as he walked out of Puzhal Central Jail on Thursday.

Palaniswami pointed out the seizure of Rs 110 crore worth of ephedrine, misused as a party drug used in manufacturing methamphetamine, from the Chennai port and sought a thorough probe into the seizure of a huge quantity of the drug.

Citing social media posts, Palaniswami claimed that the two arrested in the case were partners of jailed A Jaffer Saddiq, a former DMK party functionary. In the last forty months of the DMK rule, the ties between anti-social elements and the ruling party functionaries have devastated the state, the AIADMK leader said.

“Who is responsible for turning the state into a narcotics center? Who are the main players? Why is the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence arresting them even though it knows who is behind this? Why does it limit itself in arresting couriers or small players in organized crime,” Palaniswami wondered.

Keeping the future of the youth in mind, the CM should take action and give the police the freedom to crack the whip against the drug mafia and rid the state of the menace, EPS said. The law enforcement agencies of both the state and the Center should take coherent action against the drug mafia network, he added.