Press "Enter" to skip to content

TN ministers deny involvement in idol theft, demand apology from news channel

Tamil Nadu ministers Dindigul Srinivasan and Sevvoor Ramachandran vehemently denied any involvement in the idol theft cases in the state. Their denial came after Special officer of the Tamil Nadu Idol Wing Pon Manickavel told the high court that two state ministers were involved in theft cases. Though it is unclear if Pon Manickavel took names of any ministers, a few news reports, including by Kalaignar TV- a channel owned by the DMK family- named Srinivasan and Ramachandran.

“What has been told about us is a lie, lie, lie,” Dindigul Srinivasan told reporters on Thursday. Dindigul Srinivasan is the Minister of Forests in Tamil Nadu while Sevvoor Ramachandran holds the Hindu Religion and Charitable Endowments portfolio.

Reading out from a prepared statement, Srinivasan stated that Pon Manickavel had not submitted any reports with the two ministers’ names. “In such a situation, our photos are being published to gain political mileage by accusing us,” he said. He also added that they will send legal notice to Kalaignar news channel and also  file a complaint with the Press Council of India.

“Let him (Pon Manickavel) say whatever he wants in the court. How can Kalaignar News publish our photos and name us?” he asked.

“If it was said that two ministers were involved, we would have been silent. But Kalaignar news channel telecast the news with our photos. That is why we are denying now,” he said. He also demanded that the TV channel should apologise to them.

Idol Wing Special Officer Pon Manickavel informed the Madras High Court on Wednesday that two Tamil Nadu ministers were involved in idol theft cases that are yet to be investigated. The made the submission on a plea moved by former DSP of the Idol Wing Kadhar Batcha, who had accused Pon Manickavel of colluding with the main accused of the idol wing cases that are pending probe. 

Source: The News Minute