For the last couple of days, a little known commercial/trade entity in the hosiery town Tirupur in Tamil Nadu is in the limelight for wrong reasons. Anitha Texcot, has no manufacturing unit of its own, was the major, rather sole, supplier of PPE kits and face masks during the Pandemic in 2020. It has supplied PPE worth over Rs. 450 crores. The firm was also the major supplier of “Amma Baby Kit” to TN Govt. This firm has supplied to other states also. The main opposition party has been accusing large scale corruption by AIADMK govt in the purchase of PPE kits and other supplies during Covid 19 pandemic. The state maintains the dubious distinction for cash for vote in this election too. February 26 onwards the flying squad of the Election Commission seized nearly Rs. 200 crores, being cash transported without proper documents by different parties / individuals. In one such operation the ECI/IT team “tumbled upon “evidence of money being transported to the leading opposition party in the state, read DMK, from Anitha Texcot. This has led to raids in more than dozen locations of the company all over the state. Rs. 11 crores in cash and documents showing concealment of income of Rs 80 crores were seized during the raids, reports say.
Chandrasekaran, the owner of Anitha Texcot, is the Treasurer of the actor Kamalahasan led political party Makkal Needhi Maiam. Kamalahasan is one of the self-professed CM aspirants. He keeps claiming that himself and other functionaries of the party have clean tax records. Like any other politician, he too blamed the raids as “conspiracy” to defame his party and said would take steps against the treasurer if the charges were proved. The latest developments have put both DMK and MNM in the most embarrassing position. Stalin and Kamalahasan have a lot to explain. Many retired and serving bureaucrats were also reported to have been involved in this scandal. Normally, due to administrative constraints, ECI is helpless and cannot pursue the case once the elections are over. So, like in the past, this case also may not lead to a logical end since the incoming govt will be too busy to take forward this case.