Chennai: TVK govt has stepped up its legal offensive against DMK leaders with the arrest of former school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Monday.But DMK looks unfazed. “I fully cooperated with the investigation in the past and will continue to do so. We will prove the charges wrong in court,” Mahesh told reporters after his arrest.He is the fourth DMK leader to be arrested since TVK formed the govt five months ago. Several others, including former ministers V Senthilbalaji and P K Sekarbabu and DMK deputy general secretary A Raja, have been booked in various cases. The govt is also pursuing corruption cases against former ministers K N Nehru and E V Velu.DMK says the cases are an attempt by TVK to mask the govt’s inefficiency. “Like the previous arrests, action on Poyyamozhi is a diversionary tactic. Children are going missing, women are raped and murdered. TVK members are caught smuggling drugs. So the govt wants to divert public attention,” DMK organisation secretary R S Bharathi told TOI. Bharathi said even during AIADMK rule, so many DMK leaders were not arrested.After TVK came to power, former fisheries minister Anitha R Radhakrishnan was the first senior DMK leader to be arrested, on July 3, over alleged defamatory remarks against Vijay at a public meeting. Within a fortnight, Vilathikulam MLA G V Markandeyan was arrested on charges of threatening Vijay.The next action was against leader of the opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin. Police arrived at his residence on Aug 4, a day before the assembly session was to begin, took him to Thanjavur and released him later that day. He was accused of making sexually loaded remarks at a public meeting there on Aug 3. In all these cases, the complaints were lodged by TVK cadres.In Poyyamozhi’s case, the primary complaint was filed by D C Ilangovan, president of Federation of Associations of Private Schools of Tamil Nadu.“Anbil Mahesh will prove the allegations wrong through legal means. However, the TVK govt’s attempt to divert public anger through such arrests will not succeed,” DMK president M K Stalin said. Udhayanidhi and Kanimozhi also condemned the arrest, alleging political vendetta.Political observers were divided in their views. While some said govt should act stern against corruption, few echoed DMK’s view that the arrest was to divert public attention from incidents of crime.TVK functionaries defended the action, saying the govt was following due legal procedures. In a post on X, TVK IT wing said the govt would not allow those who had swindled public money to go scot-free.
