TN Minister Ponmudy appears before ED; Stalin backs cabinet colleague

Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy and his son appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here on Tuesday for the second day of enquiry into a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal sand mining.

The central agency, which had initiated searches on the premises of the DMK leader and his MP son Gautham Sigamani for nearly 10 hours on July 17 had conducted an inquiry at its office here late on Monday night. Both had left the ED office in the wee hours of Tuesday even as they were summoned to appear again later in the day.

After almost an overnight questioning by the ED officials, both Ponmudy and Gautham Sigamani were allowed to go home at about 3.30 am today.

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DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin spoke to his cabinet colleague and assured him the ruling party's total support in countering the BJP's "political vendetta."

Stalin, President of the ruling DMK, spoke to Ponmudy over the phone and sought details of the ED probe, an official release here said. He asked Ponmudy to face it bravely and legally.

"The chief minister told Ponmudy the party (DMK) will support (him) morally, politically and legally to oppose and break the political vendetta of the Union BJP government," it added.

Stalin is in Bengaluru to attend the meeting of opposition parties.

DMK senior leader T K S Elangovan said the Minister was "doing well" and that the latter was not "afraid, as he has got nothing to conceal." Elangovan accused the BJP government at the Centre of using the ED to "harass" the DMK.

Earlier, another party spokesperson and advocate A Saravanan claimed that the Minister “cooperated well” with the central agency and wondered the necessity to put a 72-year-old man to an overnight ordeal merely for obtaining a statement.

“Nothing would have happened if the ED officials had asked him to appear in the morning to obtain the statement," he said.

The raids were held at the premises of Ponmudy and his son in state capital and in the minister's stronghold of Villupuram. The ruling DMK dubbed the action as "political vendetta."

The ED teams were escorted by armed personnel of the CRPF and they made some seizures of documents.

The minister is an MLA from the Tirukkoyilur Assembly seat in Villupuram district while his 49-year old son Sigamani is a Member of Parliament representing the Kallakurichi seat.

“No unaccounted cash or any incriminating documents were seized from the Minister as being claimed,” Saravanan told reporters here and sought to know if the central agency has issued any press statement regarding the seizure.

“What’s the logic in inquiring into a case 13 years after it was registered. This is nothing but a political vendetta by the BJP government because Ponmudi took on Governor R N Ravi on the new education policy, appointment of vice chancellors and other key issues,” he added.

Tamil Nadu BJP vice president Narayanan Tirupathy, however, claimed that the Minister was not arrested as his colleague V Senthil Balaji was, because Ponmudi cooperated.