CHENNAI: The TVK govt will constitute a special committee to probe the alleged purchase of more than 2,000 AI-generated and fraudulent books for Periyar Arivulagam and several other public libraries under construction during the previous DMK regime, school education minister A Rajmohan said on Saturday.He also vowed to recover every rupee spent from the state exchequer on the purchases, noting that Rs 17 lakh had been spent on these materials.Accusing the DMK of attempting to shift the blame for the alleged scam onto the present govt, Rajmohan demanded that the opposition party tender an “unconditional apology” to students and readers.Showing copies of emails sent to Akalvilagu Pathippagam on Feb 14, the minister said the publisher had been asked to deliver the books within seven days. The purchase order was issued in March, he said, alleging that the entire transaction took place during the DMK regime. “We looked into the procedure and followed it to release the pending payments to facilitate the inauguration of Periyar Arivulagam,” he said.Rebutting the DMK’s charges against TVK govt, citing the seal with dates in June found on controversial books, Rajmohan said they are pointing to dates such as June 22 stamped on the books, without “any shame”. The dates indicated when the books were unpacked from the cartons and placed on the library shelves, he said. The consignment had arrived in 47 cartons.The minister said the TVK govt had not issued an order to purchase even a single book so far and reiterated that all the controversial books found at Periyar Arivulagam were purchased by the previous govt.He said the books figured in a list submitted by publishers and placed before an experts’ committee comprising 133 members. A separate high-level committee would scrutinise the list of recommended books and assess their suitability, he said. “Of the 133 members, 112 attended the meeting and signed the minutes,” he said, showing a copy of the meeting proceedings.Alleging that such a large-scale irregularity could not have taken place without political influence, Rajmohan said the govt would fix responsibility and recover the money spent on the books. He did not rule out the involvement of govt officials and warned that anyone involved in the alleged AI scam would face stern action. He also alleged that political influence, including that of ministers in the previous DMK regime, must have played a role in the purchases.Referring to author names such as “Vijay Trisha” and several others carrying the name “Vijay”, which were linked to Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, the minister alleged that the names had been deliberately created to demean a political leader and cover up their wrongdoing. He warned that no one involved would be spared. “We have also filed a complaint with the DVAC on behalf of the department, seeking a probe into the case,” he said.
