TN Governor approves prosecution of former AIADMK ministers

TN Governor gave sanction on Monday for the prosecution of two former AIADMK ministers in the gutkha scam. Former AIADMK Ministers B V Ramanna and C Vijayabaskar will now face criminal proceedings by the CBI while the case against ex-Minister MR Vijayabaskar was still under consideration, said the order. Official process was on in respect of K C Veeramani.
It was in July this year that the CBI had requested for the Governor’s sanction to prosecute B V Ramanna and C Vijayabaskar. The Raj Bhavan stated then that the CBI request was under legal examination. A press release from Raj Bhavan stated in July, “With respect to B V Ramana alias B Venkat Ramanaa and C Vijayabaskar, the cases have been investigated by the CBI and these are under legal examination.”
In April this year, the Union home ministry accorded sanction to prosecute the two former police commissioners T K Rajendran and S George. Vijayabhaskar, Rajendran and George have been accused of taking bribes of around Rs 40 crore to help transport, store and sell banned gutkha products in Chennai.
The gutkha scam was first exposed in July 2016 when late Jayalalithaa was Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. In raids conducted by the Income Tax (IT) department in the owner of MDM brand of gutkha, Madhava Rao’s residence, they found a diary with notes of alleged bribes paid to former Minister C Vijayabaskar, T K Rajendran and S George (former Chennai Police Commissioners).
The IT department wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary with details but no action was taken. The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) then began a probe into the scam which was opposed by the AIADMK government. It was then handed over to the CBI in April 2018 and investigations have been on since then.