Chennai, March 17 (IANS) Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai was taken into custody by Chennai Police on Monday while en route to a protest against alleged irregularities in the TASMAC.

The BJP had planned to stage a demonstration outside the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) head office in Egmore, highlighting financial mismanagement amounting to Rs 1,000 crore.

Annamalai was stopped by the police about a kilometre from his residence in Akkarai and detained before he could reach the protest site.

Earlier in the day, senior BJP leader and former Governor of Telangana and Puducherry, Tamilisai Soundararajan, was also taken into custody from her residence. The police cordoned off her house with heavy security to prevent her participation in the protest. A scuffle broke out between the BJP workers and police officials when she was detained.

BJP MLAs Vanathi Srinivasan, the national president of the BJP Mahila Morcha, and Saraswathi were also arrested near the State Secretariat. In addition, BJP functionary Vinoj P. Selvam was detained in T. Nagar, along with a group of party workers in Taramani.

The police also arrested BJP members and cadres who had gathered at Rajarathinam Stadium with plans to march toward the TASMAC head office in the CMDA building, Egmore.

Following the arrests, Annamalai took to social media to condemn the police action, questioning the government’s response.

He wrote, “Is it because we announced the protest democratically and in advance that you are able to take such cowardly actions? What will you do if we launch a protest one day without prior notice?”

The BJP has consistently accused the ruling DMK of misusing TASMAC revenues for political gains.

Annamalai referenced the 2023 arrest of Senthil Balaji, Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Electricity, Prohibition, and Excise, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case.

He pointed out that after a year in custody, Senthil Balaji was reinstated with the same ministerial portfolio, which he claimed highlighted the DMK’s reliance on TASMAC funds.

Recently, the Enforcement Directorate(ED) conducted searches at TASMAC headquarters, further intensifying the BJP’s allegations against the state government.

With the arrests of senior BJP leaders and the party’s aggressive stance on the issue, the political battle over the TASMAC corruption scandal is expected to escalate in the coming days.