Conspiracy to Topple Tamil Nadu Government Foiled, Three Arrested for Bribery

In Tamil Nadu, an alleged conspiracy to topple the state government by luring MLAs of actor Vijay's party Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) with Rs 35 crore has been claimed. The state intelligence department has said that the plan was foiled in time. According to party sources, the conspiracy was to put the government in trouble by getting 15 TVK MLAs to resign at once. Meanwhile, TVK MLA from Oothangurai, Dr. N. Ilaiyaraaja, alleged that he was offered a bribe of Rs 35 crore in exchange for voting in a no-confidence motion against the Speaker. Following the complaint, police and intelligence agencies launched an investigation and arrested three people (Thirunavukkarasu, Naresh and Thiagarajan) associated with a Chennai-based consultancy firm. Investigations have revealed their links to DMK MLA Senthil Balaji. On 29 June, MLA Ilaiyaraaja filed a complaint with the Chennai police. He said that Thirunavukkarasu's survey agency called him over the phone and asked him to vote for Rs 35 crore.