Ex-DMK ministers' houses raided

The Tamil Nadu police yesterday raided the residences of former Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) ministers at different places in the state.

The simultaneous raids at 29 locations, including Chennai, were held at the residences of Veerapandi Arumugham, Raghupathy, K.N. Nehru and Jennifer Chandran, as also former Tamil Maanila Congress party member Ranganathan, considered close to P. Chidambaram.

The raids, conducted by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), which began at around 8.30am, were continuing late in the evening. The DVAC has not given any reason for the raids.

Political observers in Chennai feel that this is one more step taken by Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) supremo Jayaram Jayalalithaa to keep the heat on the DMK and confirm the growing feeling among her rivals that membership of the NDA is not going to secure any help from the Vajpayee government at the centre.

She is pushing the BJP towards abandoning the DMK and switch to the AIADMK.

The raids could also be to discourage DMK cadres from participating in the statewide demonstrations called by Karunanidhi tomorrow, to protest the undemocratic behaviour of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.