Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) party on Wednesday removed Chengalpattu East District Joint Secretary Veerasamy from the primary membership of the party and stripped him of all posts with immediate effect after a video allegedly showing him accepting a bribe surfaced online.
The action comes just days after Vijay issued a strong message against corruption at a rally in Karur, saying no person involved in corruption, accepting bribes or abuse of power will be allowed to continue such activities in his state.
TVK sacks panchayat leader over viral bribery video
The video shared on social media allegedly shows Veerasamy, who was also the president of the Mambakkam panchayat union, accepting a bribe. $1.30 lakh from the contractor.
BJP Tamil Nadu president Nainar Nagenthran also shared the video on social media while targeting the Vijay government. HT was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the video.
He accused TVK of “preaching integrity on the surface” and “engaging in corruption behind the scenes.”
A disciplinary order issued on Wednesday by Chengalpattu East District Secretary C V Dinakaran said Veerasamy was removed for “behaving in a manner that brings disrepute” to the party.
The sacked TVK worker has now been arrested in Chengalpattu for alleged extortion $The images shared by news agency PTI showed 1.30 lakh.
Bilingual Anti-Corruption Notice
The Tamil Nadu government has directed all public offices, councils and state-run corporations to prominently display bilingual anti-corruption notice boards.
The hoardings will contain an anti-bribery message along with direct contact details, including a dedicated WhatsApp number for the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC).
The move comes after audits that allegedly found that several government departments failed to comply with similar anti-corruption directives issued over the past 12 years, according to an official statement.
The official statement said that the latest order brings together previous regulatory instructions to address compliance gaps. Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Secretaries, Department Heads and all District Collectors have been instructed to ensure full implementation within their jurisdictions.
The bilingual notice boards will carry the slogan “Giving and receiving bribe is an offence”, along with DVAC contact details, enabling people to report bribery-related complaints.
To encourage prompt reporting of corrupt practices, the new councils will prominently display the following message: “Giving and receiving bribes is a crime.”
The guidance also covers digital platforms. All government offices, local bodies and public sector institutions have been instructed to include the anti-corruption message on their electronic platforms.
Department websites should now display an anti-bribery warning as well as a direct hyperlink to the DVAC main portal. To ensure implementation of the instructions, the government has also deployed monitoring teams at the ground level, the statement added.
With input from agencies
