The BJP on Tuesday targeted Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay after Rs 22.10 crore was siphoned from government accounts. Party leader Vinoj P Selvam questioned how cybercriminals accessed these funds without triggering security alarms. He said, "Managing hashtags and managing government are two different things," while demanding answers on administrative oversight.
The BJP on Tuesday targeted Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay after more than Rs 22 crore was reportedly siphoned from Tamil Nadu government bank accounts. The party's State Secretary Vinoj P Selvam wrote on X, "Where is CM Vijay when the people of Tamil Nadu demand answers?"
According to a report by Tamil news outlet, Dinamalar, published on Monday (November 9), Rs 22.10 crore was allegedly siphoned off from three Rural Development Department accounts of the Tamil Nadu government.
Questions over the Vijay government's administrative functioning are not new. In its six months in office, the TVK government, which had promised to provide a "corruption-free" administration, has faced criticism over alleged irregularities in government tenders, the appointment of the CM's personal astrologer to an official post and an order seeking to exempt the Law and Order Department from the RTI Act.
However, the administration has so far managed to weather most of these controversies without significant damage to its credibility. That could change with reports of a large-scale cyber fraud targeting the government's own finances, in which crores of rupees were allegedly siphoned off from government accounts without triggering security alarms.
MANAGING HASHTAGS AND MANAGING GOVERNMENT ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, SAYS BJP LEADER
Accusing the TVK government of administrative negligence, the BJP's state secretary Vinoj P Selvam questioned how cybercriminals could access multiple government accounts and transfer crores of rupees without triggering any security alarm. "How did cybercriminals allegedly penetrate government payment systems? How were transactions worth crores executed? Where were the security checks, financial controls and monitoring mechanisms?" questioned Selvam.
He also took aim at CM Vijay's legions of social media fans, stating that "an actor's fan club and its social media army have gone from trending hashtags to running a state government", adding that managing a state and "managing hashtags" were two "very different things".
"This incident raises yet another set of serious questions about the Vijay-led TVK government's administrative oversight, accountability and preparedness," Selvam alleged, adding, "These are funds meant for rural development, essential services and public welfare. Money entrusted to the government for the benefit of ordinary citizens".
He ended his post, stating, "Tamil Nadu needs transparent answers, stronger institutions and a government that can demonstrate its ability to safeguard public funds."
WHAT ARE THE REPORTED CYBERFRAUD CASES CITED BY THE BJP IN TAMIL NADU?
The Dinamalar report published on Monday put the siphoned amounts at Rs 14 crore from Mandapam Panchayat Union in Ramanathapuram district, Rs 3.10 crore from Nagapattinam district and Rs 5 crore from Dharapuram Panchayat Union in Tiruppur district, which were allocated for constructing rural health and wellness centres under the 15th Finance Commission grants.
The Dinmalar report also said that investigators suspected the involvement of a Nigerian cybercrime gang in the case.
A separate Indian Express Tamil report published on Tuesday, November 10, also reported on the alleged cyberfraud and the involvement of a Nigerian gang, but identified the third defrauded account as belonging to Tambaram, a major city in the Chengalpattu district, rather than Dharapuram in Tiruppur.
The report stated that Chennai Cyber Crime Police were investigating the alleged fraud, examining the IP addresses used by the hackers, and the back accounts that received the siphoned funds.
CM C Joseph Vijay's government has so far managed to deflect allegations of corruption and administrative lapses during its first six months in power. Whether it can weather the latest controversy remains to be seen. But brushing aside reports of crores of rupees being successfully siphoned off from government accounts may prove considerably more difficult.