EC summons chief electoral officer

Chennai: Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh B. Lakhoni has been summoned to Delhi for urgent consultations at the Election Commission, which is exercised over the income tax raids unearthing a massive “money-for-vote” operation underway in the RK Nagar by-election. Amid apprehensions that the EC might consider postponement of the cash-flooded poll, an informed source said, “That would be the very last option, not the best one”.

The I-T department in coordination with the Election Commission and the Enforcement Directorate had undertaken searches at over 50 locations across the state during Friday-Saturday and initial reports said evidence of distribution of over Rs 89 crore by the AIADMK (Amma) in the constituency going to poll on April 12.

Mainstream visual and social media flashed out early Saturday evening copies of some of the documents seized by the I-T sleuths, which had details of money dealings by the party heavyweights, including CM Edappadi Palanisami. It appeared that the 'evidence' was leaked to the media by an official source apparently to debunk the charges being made by the 'Amma' faction leaders alleging that the raids were politically motivated with the sole aim of defeating their candidate T.T.V. Dinakaran.

"They got nothing in the raids, only took a few papers", said Dhinakaran. "Because my win is assured, they want to intimidate us". Health minister C. Vijayabaskar was at the fulcrum of the raids, with even his father and brother summoned by the tax officials at the Tiruchy I-T office to explain some of the documents lifted during the searches. "They found only '10,000 from my house though they searched from six am. yesterday till about four this morning", the weary minister told mediapersons in the early hours of Saturday. He said the raids were inspired by a petition from rival AIADMK chief O. Panneerselvam charge that the latter denied.

Mr Vikram Batra, ECI director and 'expenditure observer' for RK Nagar, left for Delhi Saturday evening. He had held discussions with senior I-T officials on the outcome of the raids and carried vital evidence with him for the deliberations at the EC, sources said, adding, "The discussions may stretch for two days and a final decision is on Monday".

DMK working president M.K. Stalin and AIADMK (OPS) candidate E. Madhusudhanan and PMK chief S. Ramadoss, have demanded that the EC should disqualify Dinakaran.