NB Twitter Scan | When Tamil Nadu CM Stalin criticized Senthil Balaji for 'corruption'
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As the unnecessary drama was created over DMK leader Senthil Balaji's arrest by ED, a old video of in which Chief Minister MK Stalin is heard speaking against Senthil Balaji who was then a Cabinet Minister in the AIADMK government. This came after Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party chief K Annamalai on Wednesday gave a "gentle" reminder to Stalin while sharing the video.
"A gentle reminder to Thiru @mkstalin on what he spoke a few years back about the #CashForJobScam tainted Thiru Senthil Balaji. Are you going to refute this, Thiru @mkstalin? Why are you playing the victim card today?" Annamalai said while questioning whether Stalin will refute what he said about Senthil Balaji a few years ago.
Senthil Balaji, who was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the early hours of Wednesday, was a minister under the AIADMK regime and switched sides to the DMK in the year 2017.
In the video, Stalin was heard speaking about a bus-ticket vending machine scam done by Balaji. "I spoke about the scam done while procuring the machines with proof in the Assembly," Stalin could be purportedly heard saying in the video posted by Annamalai on Twitter.
"There is a minister from this Karur district: Senthil Balaji. The cabinet got reshuffled for 15 times, but Senthil Balaji remained in the cabinet; he has so much influence. He was a junior minister but he did not lose ministry while senior minsters were reshuffled. Even when Jayalalithaa was in jail, his name was considered for the CM post. Senthil Balaji and his brother are controlling the district by looting," Stalin said as seen in the old video.
A gentle reminder to Thiru @mkstalin on what he spoke a few years back about the #CashForJobScam tainted Thiru Senthil Balaji.
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) June 14, 2023
Are you going to refute this, Thiru @mkstalin?
Why are you playing victim card today? https://t.co/ybFUtqrFov pic.twitter.com/c1YeCyhvFn
Not many months ago, Senthil and Annamalai engaged in a Twitter war after Senthil questioned Annamalai's limited edition Rafale watch worth Rs 5 lakh.
“When Senthil Balaji was not in DMK, this issue (of jobs scam) was raised by (CM) MK Stalin himself. At that time, they were at the foremost to raise this cash-for-job scam,” BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.
“Netaji used to say ‘tum mujhe khoon do main tumhe Azadi doonga’. These parties say ‘tum mujhe cash do main tumhe job doonga’. The U turn of Stalin ji on corruption & cash-4-job scam isn’t surprising for those who have mastered art of 2G,3G corruption!” Poonawalla tweeted.
Netaji used to say “tum mujhe khoon do main tumhe Azadi doonga”
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) June 14, 2023
These parties say “tum mujhe cash do main tumhe job doonga”
The U turn of Stalin ji on corruption & cash-4-job scam isn’t surprising for those who have mastered art of 2G,3G corruption! https://t.co/fgIAqfpUof
Senthil Balaji's arrest by ED
On June 13, Tamil Nadu witnessed high voltage drama after state minister V Senthil Balaji started sobbing like a child soon as the Enforcement Directorate was arrested following a long session of questioning in connection with a money laundering case.
As this drama wasn't enough, in a bid to save himself from arrest he started complaining of chest pain following which he was shifted to Omandurar government hospital in Chennai. He was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as the doctors saw variations in his ECG.
It should be noted that the ED sleuths on Tuesday raided the premises linked to Balaji and questioned him in a case that pertains to allegations when he was the transport minister during the AIADMK-led government from 2011 to 2015 before he switched to the DMK. The action came months after the Supreme Court allowed a police and ED probe into an alleged cash-for-jobs scam against him.
https://twitter.com/RatanSharda55/status/1668845855682740224
A video of high voltage drama went viral on social media platforms. TV visuals showed Balaji crying in pain while lying in a car as his supporters gathered there to protest against the ED action.