Vijayabaskar was the Tamil Nadu Health Minister from 2011 to 2021 during successive terms of the AIADMK government in 2011 and 2016.The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted searches targeting AIADMK leader and former Tamil Nadu minister C. Vijayabaskar, as well as a Chennai-based real estate group, as part of separate investigations into alleged money laundering, according to sources.
These searches are significant as Vijayabaskar becomes the first major AIADMK leader to be targeted by the Enforcement Directorate. The AIADMK had ended its alliance with the BJP last year.
Around 25 premises are being searched by the central agency in connection with the two cases. Officials also showed up at the residence of former Viralimalai MLA Vijayabaskar in Iluppur, Pudukottai district this morning, but he wasn’t at home. Vijayabaskar, a former health minister and a prominent figure within the AIADMK from Pudukottai, is the subject of these searches stemming from a state vigilance (DVAC) investigation dating back to 2022, regarding an alleged case of possessing disproportionate assets.
Simultaneously, premises associated with the real estate group Gsquare and its affiliated entities in and around Chennai are also under investigation under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The realty group is allegedly linked to the ruling DMK’s first family.
This isn’t the first time Vijayabaskar’s properties have come under scrutiny. Income Tax officials conducted searches in 2017 on his residences in Chennai, stone crushers, and quarries in Pudukkotai district, along with numerous other properties belonging to him and his relatives in the state. He was earlier booked in the “gutkha scam” by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The raid comes weeks after senior AIADMK leader KP Munusamy challenged the BJP to prove if its support has grown in the southern state. Munusamy even dared the BJP to field Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, both of whom have Tamil roots frequently highlighted by the BJP, in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Tamil Nadu.
Munusamy’s bold challenge underscores the deteriorating relationship between the former allies, which saw the AIADMK exiting the BJP-led NDA in September last year. The departure came following critical remarks by the BJP’s state chief K Annamalai about former Chief Minister CN Annadurai, whom the AIADMK reveres as its founder MG Ramachandran’s mentor.
Annamalai’s refusal to apologise for his comments, backed by the BJP, further strained the relationship. The AIADMK had celebrated the split with the BJP, highlighting their electoral losses when contested together, including the significant setback in the 2021 state elections where they secured only 75 seats compared to 136 in 2016. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the AIADMK-BJP alliance won just a single seat, while rivals DMK-Congress claimed 38 of 39.
Since the break-up, the BJP has been left without a significant alliance partner in the state. The BJP has so far partnered with the Tamil Manila Congress and considering partnerships with other regional parties like the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). There is also speculation that senior political figures, like O Panneerselvam, may also join the BJP in an individual capacity.
The AIADMK is currently engaged in discussions with the PMK, DMDK, and several smaller parties.