Chennai, Oct 28:
Tamil Nadu Electricity and Law Minister R Nirmalkumar on Tuesday said the arrest of former School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi in an alleged school-approval scam showed the extent of irregularities that could emerge from investigating a single file.
Speaking to reporters in Coimbatore, Nirmalkumar alleged that more than Rs 400 crore had been collected from schools in the name of party funds during the previous DMK regime. He claimed that schools run by non-governmental organisations and Christian missionary groups had been pressured to pay money to obtain certificates relating to the safety and security of schoolchildren.
Responding to former Chief Minister M K Stalin’s criticism that the arrest was an act of political vendetta, Nirmalkumar said the government had documentary and video evidence and that further files involving alleged irregularities were under investigation. He urged affected schools to come forward with complaints and said all allegations would be investigated. The charges are allegations and will have to be established through the legal process.