PMK president Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss on Wednesday, July 3, 2024 demanded that the DMK candidate Anniyur Siva be disqualified from contesting the Vikravandi by-election after dhotis, sarees and other gift items were recovered from DMK’s local secretary and former Panchayat president, A.C. Ramalingam’s house in Aasangapuram village in Vikravandi.
In a statement, he said that when the members of the PMK reported the incident to election officials, revenue officers, and police, and demanded the seizure of the remaining gifts hidden in Ramalingam’s house. “However, instead of taking action against the DMK members, the election and police officials helped the DMK members to take the dhotis and sarees through the back entrance of the house,” he alleged.
“Fearing defeat in the Vikravandi constituency, the DMK is trying to buy votes and disrupt the election process with the help of the State machinery. It is condemnable that government officials are supporting it,” he said, reiterating his earlier demand that the Election Commission of India must appoint an IAS officer from outside the State as Retuning Officer and deploy considerable number of special observers and CRPF police personnel.
