CHENNAI: Law Minister R Nirmalkumar on Tuesday accused the DMK of attempting to shield Gem Granite Veeramani and said Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay was closely monitoring the case to ensure impartial action against everyone involved.

Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat, Nirmalkumar said the DMK’s over-reaction to the issue raised questions. He also sought an explanation from former minister S Regupathy, who had claimed that the video in question was unclear, asking whether he had personally seen it or was speaking based on what others had told him.

Nirmalkumar alleged that R Veeramani, whom he described as a businessman with assets worth hundreds of crores, could have approached a power centre to evade action. He further alleged that only a party such as the DMK could have enabled him to escape the consequences.

Drawing a parallel with the Anna University sexual assault case, the minister alleged that the FIR in that case was released, exposing and intimidating the survivor, and that an attempt was subsequently made to suppress the investigation. He alleged that the DMK was now attempting to suppress the Veeramani case in a similar manner.

Nirmalkumar said the Chief Minister was personally monitoring the case to ensure that no one involved escaped action and asserted that strict and impartial action would be taken against all those found connected with it.