Terming the arrest of former Tamil Nadu agriculture minister Agri Krishnamurthy in connection with the alleged suicide of a senior engineering department official as a 'cover up' and 'eyewash', political parties in the state, including DMK, Congress, BJP, Left front and PMK, stood united today in demanding a CBI probe into his death.
"CB-CID's arrest of Krishnamoorthy smacks of a cover up. We demand a CBI probe into the death of Muthukumarasamy to bring to justice all those behind the scam, which claimed the life of an honest officer," DMK leader M K Stalin said in a Facebook post.
The state Congress unit also made a similar demand, with TNCC president E V K S Elangovan saying that since a Minister himself was "involved" in the issue, the probe has to be handed over to CBI to bring justice to the official's family.
"Only by handing over the case to CBI will those accused be punished," he said in a statement.
BJP's Tamil Nadu unit flayed the state government for allegedly not allowing honest officers to function independently and demanded a probe by the central agency.
The party's state unit president Thamizhisai Sounderrajan welcomed the arrest of the former minister, saying they had been demanding a complete probe for a long time.
CPI(M) claimed Krishnamurthy was arrested due to the pressure put on the state government by opposition parties.
"The arrest has come after a long delay, that too under pressure from opposition parties. There has to be a CBI enquiry in the entire issue," CPI(M) state Secretary, G Ramakrishnan told reporters.
NDA constituent PMK said there would not be any significant development following Krishnamoorthy's arrest.
"The arrest is only an eyewash. This is not enough. In order to bring out the truth behind the incident, the case should be transferred to CBI," PMK founder S Ramadoss said in a statement.
AAP too sought an investigation by the central agency, saying the case should be transferred to CBI so that the family of Muthukumarasamy would get justice.
"The case should be transferred to CBI and AAP Tamil Nadu unit will fight for it," the party said in a statement.
Krishnamurthy was sacked as a minister recently in the wake of the political row over the death of Muthukumarasamy, who allegedly committed suicide 44 days back due to alleged pressure from the Minister while recruiting seven drivers.
