Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai and several party functionaries were detained by the police on Monday ahead of the party’s planned protest against alleged irregularities in the state-run liquor retail corporation, TASMAC.
The BJP had announced a picketing protest outside the TASMAC headquarters in Chennai, citing the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) claims of financial irregularities amounting to ₹1,000 crore in the corporation’s operations.
Annamalai, dressed in a black shirt, was taken into custody near his residence along with his supporters.
In a social media post, the BJP state chief alleged that senior party leaders, including Tamilisai Soundararajan, had been placed “under house arrest” by the police.
Among those detained were Mahila Morcha chief and Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan, Vinoj P. Selvam, and Amar Prasad Reddy, all key functionaries of the state BJP.
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Annamalai reiterated the party’s stance on the issue, stating, “There have been irregularities of ₹1,000 crore in the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC),” and affirmed that the BJP would continue to protest against the alleged corruption.
The ED had earlier stated that it had found “multiple irregularities” in TASMAC’s operations, including “manipulation” in the tender process and “unaccounted” cash transactions amounting to ₹1,000 crore through distillery companies.
The federal agency claimed to have gathered “evidence” of these alleged corrupt practices following its raids on TASMAC employees, corporate offices of distilleries, and liquor production plants on 6 March.
The ED further alleged the involvement of ‘kickbacks’ in the irregularities.
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