Chennai: BJP state president K. Annamalai on Tuesday released a second audio clip of Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiyaga Rajan (PTR) purportedly speaking about “money management” in the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
According to a 57-second clip released by the opposition party, the finance minister praises the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) ‘one person, one post’ policy.,
Posted by Annamalai Alleged audio tape of PTR A few days ago Twitter claimed that the minister had “exposed” about the assets of DMK President and Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi and son-in-law V. Sabarisan. PTR had dismissed the audio clip as “fabricated”.
“From the day I entered politics, I have been a supporter of one person, one position…party for a long time. I like this thing about BJP. Who takes care of the party, who takes care of the individual people… right?” The second clip purportedly says.
“Here (in DMK) every (beep) decision has to be taken by the MLAs and ministers…. Who cares for the party, who cares for the people… Oh.. Money is easy to manage… It’s not a system… They (DMK MLAs and Ministers) are taking a major share of the loot …’
In a tweet accompanying the audio clip, Annamalai thanked PTR for “making a proper distinction between DMK and BJP” and tagged the finance minister.
Listen, the ecosystem of DMK is crumbling from within. Second taping of Tamil Nadu State FM Thiru @ptrmadurai,
Special thanks to TN FM for making a proper distinction between DMK and BJP! #DMKfiles pic.twitter.com/FUEht61RVa
— K Annamalai (@annamalai_k) April 25, 2023
ThePrint reached PTR through calls and texts but did not receive a response till the time of publishing this report.
On Saturday, Thiagarajan had earlier described the audio, which was widely shared by the BJP, as “fabricated”.
“Whatever I am and whatever I have done in public life is because of my leader, DMK President and Honorable Chief Minister MK Stalin,” the DMK minister wrote in his two-page statement. Twitter handle,
“We should not be surprised to see more audio and even video clips with more malicious content in the coming days and months.”
‘If I lay down my papers’
In the second audio, PTR purportedly says that he saw the DMK first family controlling the party, and the MLAs and ministers all involved in the party and the government. “So, after looking at it for 8 months I decided…it’s not a sustainable model…”
The Finance Minister reportedly says, “It will be a matter of great pleasure for me if I give my paper.
DMK leaders ThePrint spoke to declined to make a public statement. “The whole issue is a diversionary strategy used by the BJP. There are many issues between AIADMK and BJP apart from internal power struggle and rift within BJP. This is being done to divert attention.
On 14 April, Annamalai was released ‘DMK files’ Assets of around 13 DMK leaders including Stalin, Udhayanidhi, Sabarisan, Kanimozhi and Kalanithi Maran were alleged. 1.34 lakh crore was Rs.
A few days later, the BJP state president released the first audio clip in which PTR purportedly says that Udhayanidhi and Sabarisan had trouble handling the money accumulated over a year.
(Edited by Tony Rae)