‘Raids against Velumani will not affect BJP’s prospects in local body polls’

The recent raids carried out by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on properties linked to former Minister of the AIADMK S.P. Velumani will not affect the prospects of its ally, t

The recent raids carried out by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on properties linked to former Minister of the AIADMK S.P. Velumani will not affect the prospects of its ally, the BJP, in the upcoming local body elections, BJP State president K. Annamalai asserted here on Saturday. Mr. Annamalai told mediapersons at the party office here that the BJP was “always election-ready” whenever the local body polls would be held. As voters would consider only local issues in the local body elections, any campaign targeting Mr. Velumani by the DMK would have no impact, he said. Mr. Annamalai alleged that the DMK government carried out the DVAC raids due to “political animosity”. He, however, added that commenting on specific charges against the former Minister would be possible only after the filing of the chargesheet. While welcoming the reduction of petrol price by ₹ 3 in the State, the BJP State president said his party’s stand was to bring petrol and diesel under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), but the State governments “are not ready”. The DMK government was able to effectively tackle the second COVID-19 wave after coming to power by being “cordial” with the Central government, he said.