Section of media making 'big issue', says TTV Dinakaran on IT raids

Chennai, Nov 22: Sidelined AIADMK leader T T V Dhinakaran alleged that a section of media was making a "big issue" out of the recent IT raids at J Jayalalithaa's residence here last week and claimed that officials recovered only a laptop and a couple of pen drives.

Veda Nilayam, the Poes Garden residence of the late AIADMK supremo, was not "controlled" by anyone, as only some staff of the former chief minister stayed there, he said. "They (Income Tax sleuths) recovered an old laptop and four or five pen drives.

A section of media made a big issue out of it," he told reporters here. He also slammed Chief Minister K Palaniswami's camp, saying though the latter's government had announced that Veda Nilayam would be converted into a memorial, none of the ministers arrived at the spot when I-T sleuths raided it on November 17.

Two rooms have been sealed by the tax authorities, he claimed. Taxmen conducted searches in the office block of the Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa last Friday. A search was launched at the office block and a room used by jailed and deposed AIADMK leader V K Sasikala. The I-T team searched Jayalalithaa's aide Poongundran's room, records room and another room used by Sasikala.

When reporters asked Dhinakaran asked who "controls" the Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa, he said there was nothing like that. "There is nothing called a control. Staff who had assisted Amma (Jayalalithaa) are staying there. Since February 14 when Chinnamma (Sasikala) left the house (to surrender in a Bengaluru court in a disproportionate assets case), only staff stay there, nobody else," he added.

A few days ago, Dhinakaran had alleged that there was a conspiracy to squeeze out his family from politics and slammed his rival, Palaniswami, for not opposing the raids. The Palaniswami camp, however, blamed the Sasikala family for the raids.

PTI