Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai, on Tuesday, released a 57-second audio clip, purportedly belonging to Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR) in which the minister is heard complaining about the working style in the ruling DMK.
In a tweet, Annamalai said, “Listen to the DMK ecosystem crumbling from within. Special thanks to TN FM for drawing a proper distinction between DMK & BJP!”
In the audio clip, a person, allegedly PTR, is heard saying he had been a proponent of 'one man one post' from the day he entered politics. “It is what I like about the BJP. Who looks after the party, who looks after the people, separate those, right?”
The voice is heard saying the chief minister’s (M.K. Stalin) son and son-in-law are controlling the DMK. “Here decision has to be made by the MLA and the minister… who looks after the party, who looks after the people… it is easier to do money management. It is not a system… they are taking the bulk of the spoils… the party which is CM’s son and son-in-law… Ask them to make the financing. Right. So I decided after watching this for eight months… this is not a sustainable model…the great luxury for me if I put my papers in… in the short term, I get out before the shit starts blowing up on their face… I have the like… like… kind of what you say….cleanliness of my conscience that I didn’t have to like it wasn’t … I gave up the fight too early… I do not have to say it…I am no longer in the post… it is not my job…somebody did it…”
Repeated hearing of the audio clip reveals that there are edits in between and that two or three audio clips could have been put together, as there is no continuity in the audio. But it is clear that the person speaking is unhappy with the system in the ruling DMK government.
With the release of the second clip, the BJP has only stepped up its targeted attack on the ruling DMK, especially PTR. The first audio clip was released by a whistleblower on social media in which PTR allegedly is heard saying that the DMK's first family has made Rs 30,000 crore, in the last two years, more than their grandparents made.
PTR in a statement, two days after the first clip was released, called it “malicious” and “fabricated.” Crediting CM Stalin for the success of his public life, the minister said, “No malicious attempts to divide them will ever succeed.” He said publicly available technical analysis of the alleged clip clearly shows it is not authentic.
PTR had also put out screenshots of an audio forensic analysis, to say that the clip in his name was manipulated by cutting and pasting several clips to defame the DMK and him as they are against the Sangh Parivar.
However, the BJP had earlier urged Governor R.N. Ravi to order a forensic audit of the audio clip as it alleged that the DMK has made huge money.
The second clip, DMK party insiders say, could spell more trouble for the finance minister who is considered the blue-eyed boy of the chief minister. The second clip has come at a time when the DMK is being criticized for its policy goof-ups and withdrawing two of its policy decisions.