Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai

Chennai, Mar 17: Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai was taken into custody by Chennai Police on Monday while heading to a protest against alleged financial irregularities in TASMAC.

The BJP had planned a demonstration outside the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) head office in Egmore, highlighting alleged mismanagement of Rs 1,000 cr. However, Annamalai was stopped about a kilometre from his residence in Akkarai and detained before reaching the protest site.

Senior BJP leader and former Telangana and Puducherry governor, Tamilisai Soundararajan, was also detained earlier in the day. The police cordoned off her residence to prevent her participation, leading to a scuffle between BJP workers and officials.

BJP MLAs Vanathi Srinivasan and Saraswathi were arrested near the state secretariat, while party functionary Vinoj P Selvam and several cadres were detained in different parts of Chennai. Protesters who gathered at Rajarathinam Stadium to march towards TASMAC headquarters were also taken into custody.

Following the arrests, Annamalai condemned the police action on social media, questioning the government's crackdown on a ‘democratic protest.’

The BJP has repeatedly accused the ruling DMK of misusing TASMAC revenues for political gains. Annamalai linked the issue to the 2023 arrest of minister Senthil Balaji in a money laundering case, alleging that his reinstatement showed DMK’s reliance on TASMAC funds.

With recent Enforcement Directorate (ED) searches at TASMAC headquarters and the BJP’s aggressive stance, political tensions in Tamil Nadu are set to escalate further.