No valuables seized, says Velumani; tension in Kovai after MLAs’ arrest

COIMBATORE: Ex-AIADMK minister SP Velumani termed the DVAC raids as politically motivated and claimed that no valuables were seized from his house.

“The DVAC sleuths took just Rs 7,500 from my house, which they gave back to me. No valuables were seized in the raid,” he told reporters soon after the raids ended in the evening.

Alleging that raids were carried out due to political vendetta, Velumani said the scheme to convert street lights into LED lamps, brought when Jayalalithaa was chief minister, helped in saving Rs 400 crore through electricity bills.

“Chief Minister MK Stalin made several futile attempts to destabilise the previous AIADMK government under the leadership of Edappadi K Palaniswami. Now, Stalin could not bear the fact that AIADMK will win big in the ensuing parliamentary and assembly polls due to good response among people,” he said.

Velumani also said that more than 500 projects introduced by the AIADMK in Coimbatore were cancelled by DMK, which had not implemented any scheme in Tamil Nadu.

Earlier, tension prevailed as seven AIADMK MLAs along with around 250 party workers were arrested in Coimbatore for protesting against the DVAC raids against ex-minister Velumani.

As the news of raids spread out, the party cadre began to gather in front of the house of SP Velumani in Kuniamuthur. They raised slogans against the police and DMK government. Security was stepped up following the raids.

MLAs, including Amman K Arjunan (Coimbatore North), PRG Arun Kumar (Kavundampalayam), KR Jayaram (Singanallur), S Damodaran (Kinathukadavu), VP Kandasamy (Sulur), TK Amul Kandasami (Valparai) and AK Selvaraj (Mettupalayam) turned up, and attempted to enter the house of Velumani. However, police prevented and arrested them along with the protesting cadre.