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Coimbatore
Seized documents show covering 89% RK Nagar voters with Rs4,000 each
April 11, 2017
It is crores of rupees that was sent out to RK Nagar constituency where the by-election has been suspended, according to documents seized by the authorities.
Income Tax sleuths grilled Health Minister C. Vijaybhaskar and Samathuva Makkal Katchi leader Sarath Kumar on the basis of the incriminating documents seized on Tuesday after raids in over 50 places, including Chennai, Pudukkottai and Illupur. The seized documents have created a storm in social and political circles and finally led to the Election Commission suspending the RK Nagar bypoll.
The seized records clearly indicate that 89 per cent of the electorate has been covered and every voter was to get Rs 4,000, no matter which party he or she supported making cash for votes a clear case in RK Nagar.
All the high profile state ministers, including Chief Minister Edapadi Palanisamy, have been roped in to do the dirty work allegedly at the behest of AIADMK (Amma) candidate TTV. Dinakaran. Health Minister C. Vijaybhaskar acted as his `Man Friday’ to do the dirty job.
The seized documents also bear the signatures of the ministers and party functionaries, who have received the payout in crores. While School Education Minister K. Sengottaiyan is listed to manage 38,620 voters and given Rs 13,13,20,000 for and Edapadi Palanisamy 13,27,72, 000 for 39,050 voters. They had been designated as election committee coordinators to supervise the electioneering in RK Nagar.
In the long list are Dindigul Srinivasan (Minister of Forests), P. Thangamani (Minister of Electricity), S.P. Velumani (Minister of Rural Development) and T. Jeyakumar (Minister of Fisheries) who are believed to have been given funds and `manage’ election expenditure.
IT sleuths who searched the premises Vijaybhaskar and his friends seized Rs 20 lakh of bribe money from his house in Pudukkottai and Rs 5 crore his confidantes Nainar Mohammed and Kalpesh.
This ugly phenomenon of cash for votes is locally called `Thirumangalam formula’, and comes from what is believed to have been M.K. Alagiri managing the bypoll in Thirumangalam earlier for the DMK.
