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Lakshmi Subramanian
Lakshmi Subramanian

CHENNAI

TN I-T raid: More heads to roll?

PTI12_21_2016_000246B Police personnel stand guard at a main entrance of Tamil Nadu state secretariat" during a raid at the chamber of chief secretary P. Rama Mohana Rao, who came under the I-T scanner | PTI

A day after the high profile raids at the residence and offices of Tamil Nadu’s suspended chief secretary Rama Mohana Rao and his relatives, power corridors in the state remain shaken. Highly placed sources in the state government say that the I-T officers are tireless and the raids could lead to more surprises like arrests of bureaucrats in the coming days.

Says a senior officer, “As per the information I have, it took time for the I-T officials only to scan the documents seized from Rao’s residence and offices. Rao is one of the officers in the list. It all began a few days before the elections when Anbunathan, a businessman close to one of the former ministers, was brought under the scanner of the central agencies.” In fact, Rao looks unperturbed even after the raids, say sources. 

Sources say that the I-T department may even go to the extent of detaining Rao for enquiry in the coming days. It may be recalled that the CBI confiscated Rs 170 crores of new currency and several kilos of gold from businessman Sekhar Reddy, who has been taken in for further enquiry. On the other hand, the I-T sleuths have unearthed documents relating to several fake accounts and close to Rs 150 crores of old currency after the raids conducted at the state central cooperative bank in Salem. The bank chairman R. Illangovan is reportedly an AIADMK worker and also the rural secretary of the Salem district J. Jayalalithaa Peravai, a wing of the ruling AIADMK party.

Jayalalithaa Peravai is the brain child of V.K.Sasikala and was nurtured with an aim of building the party. Ilangovan is also said to be close to one of the former AIADMK ministers. In fact, the raids at Salem cooperative society, say sources, was a continuation of the Sekhar Reddy raids, his arrest and searches at Rao’s residence. And the I-T officials, after the searches at Illangovan’s office, summoned 64 managers of cooperative banks in Salem and questioned them as well.

However the state bureaucracy seems to be completely rattled after the continuous raids and revelations through the searches. In fact, the bureaucracy in Tamil Nadu, a well structured network, had always held the maximum powers with much efficiency and could run the government even during the times of Jayalalithaa’s hospitalisation. Apparently whenever Jayalalithaa was in power, the bureaucracy had a free hand to work, as she always banked on the officers.

And Rao being one of the favourite officers who superseded a dozen officers while being appointed as the chief secretary in June, was looked at as the most powerful officer. In fact, his predecessor K.Gnanadesikan too was powerful and was also suspended from office for corruption by Jayalalithaa herself. But Rao’s clout was lying low -- chief minister’s advisor Sheela Balakrishnan, IAS, being at the helm of affairs. Already, unrest continues to be seen among the senior bureaucrats in the state, with officers like Sheela Balakrishan and Rao calling the shots.

Now with Rao being suspended after the raids, senior officials feel the ruling AIADMK and Chief Minister O Panneerselvam will sideline Balakrishnan too. “If not, the raids will further dent the image of the AIADMK leadership which is all set to move into the hands of V.K.Sasikala and her family,” says a senior IAS officer on conditions of anonymity.

On the other hand, the appointment of no-nonsense officer Girija Vaidyanathan has brought a good name to the government. Vaidyanathan, a 1981 batch IAS officer and the daughter of former RBI governor S.Venkitaramanan, had earlier served as the principal secretary of the health and family welfare department and held various positions in the agriculture, health, transportation and state planning commission over the years.

In fact, she was one of the officers sidelined by Jayalalithaa when she chose Rao for the state’s top post. But Girija Vaidyanathan’s appointment by the AIADMK government has come as a surprise to many. Sources say the state government could have been influenced when it came to her appointment. However, Girija being the senior most in the line, the sources also say, the state had to go by the seniority and appoint her.

On the flip side, the state bureaucracy is waiting nervously to watch the nature of the cases against Rao and the sections under which the cases would be registered. If an IAS officer is arrested, it would bring a permanent back mark to the bureaucracy, they say.

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Topics : #Tamil Nadu

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