DMK councillor seeks evidence for graft claims

Madurai: DMK councillors demanded minister C T R Nirmal Kumar to provide proofs for alleged ₹2,000 crores corruption in Madurai corporation failing which his house would be besieged by DMK councillors.DMK councillor M Jeyaram condemned the minister statement claiming that many council members were involved in irregularities, during the corporation council meeting on Tuesday.Talking to reporters, Jeyaram said the minister accused all council members of embezzling ₹20 to ₹50 crore each. He said the minister must come to the next council meeting and prove with evidence for his claims. “The DMK welcomes punishment for anyone who has done wrong. However, portraying all council members as criminals without evidence is unacceptable,” he said.Madurai East constituency MLA Karthikeyan further alleged that much larger irregularities occurred in the urban planning department of the corporation in the past five years. He said approval was granted for a supermarket building project in Vilangudi within 45 minutes of transfer from the DTCP portal to the corporation portal, while other applications were pending for several months.Rejecting the councillor Jeyaram’s claim that no irregularities occurred in Madurai corporation, he asked why former mayor, zonal leaders and many officials were removed from their positions then.