Plot To Topple Vijay Government? Rs 35 Crore Claim, 3 Arrests And 'DMK Link'

Was there a plot to topple the Viay-led TVK government in Tamil Nadu? The state intelligence department has claimed it has foiled an alleged conspiracy to destabilise the TVK government, less than two months after it took office.

The plot allegedly involved engineering the simultaneous resignation of 15 TVK MLAs to bring down the government, sources said.

Acting on a TVK MLA's complaint, officials launched a probe and arrested an employee of a consultancy firm. During the investigation, one of the arrested had links to DMK MLA Senthil Balaji's brother. 

Two were arrested from Chennai, while another one was picked up from Trichy. Officials are probing the alleged conspiracy and its wider network.

MLA Was Offered Rs 35 Crore: Complaint

The case came to light after TVK MLA from Uthangarai, N Elaiyaraja, filed a complaint with Chennai Police. He alleged that a person from consultancy firm IPDS offered him Rs 35 crore to back a no-confidence motion against Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar, a TVK leader. The MLA further alleged that he was later intimidated and told not to discuss the offer with anyone.

Sources told NDTV that one of the arrested persons is close to Senthil Balaji and his brother Ashok.

TVK Minister Hits Out At DMK

Tamil Nadu Minister CT Nirmal Kumar attacked the DMK over the alleged plot. "Individuals directly associated with Senthil Balaji, as well as those from the so-called 'Karur Gang', are directly implicated in this matter. The police must take legal action and arrest everyone involved. They must put an end to such nefarious activities," Kumar said.

The minister also accused the DMK of colluding with AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami to try and bring down the Vijay-led government. He alleged that several TVK MLAs have been offered money to defect.

"Edappadi Palaniswami and others were attempting to form a government through underhanded means. Today, we are seeing the manifestation of that. Key DMK figures like Senthil Balaji, acting on the orders of MK Stalin and Udhayanidhi, have been contacting many of our MLAs. They have been offering sums of Rs 10 crore, 20 crore, or even 50 crore. There isn't a single MLA they haven't approached," Kumar claimed.

DMK: 'TVK Creating A Narrative'

The DMK accused the TVK of leaking details of an ongoing investigation. "TVK just wants to create a public perception by leaking investigation details. This shows they are low on facts and only want to create a narrative," DMK spokesperson A Saravanan told NDTV.

He dared the TVK government to arrest Senthil Balaji if it has concrete proof.

Vijay and Senthil Balaji share an acrimonious relationship. The former DMK minister belongs to Karur, which witnessed a stampede during a Vijay election rally. Vijay had then accused Balaji of conspiring to engineer the stampede to discredit him. Balaji had denied the allegation.