TVK Sacks Mambakkam Panchayat President N V Veera Over Bribery Allegations

On Wednesday, the Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) sacked its Chengalpet east district joint secretary, N V Veera, from the party following bribery allegations in Mambakkam, Chennai. Veera, who also serves as the president of the Mambakkam panchayat union in Chengalpet district, was subsequently picked up by the police on Wednesday night for an inquiry.

The political party took swift action after a video surfaced and went viral on social media. The footage reportedly showed Veera, who is also known as Veerasamy, receiving cash from an individual who was purportedly a contractor. Alongside the video, screenshots of a purported online money transfer to Veera were widely circulated. These posts accused the panchayat union president of accepting bribes in exchange for awarding contracts.

In response to the controversy, TVK Chengalpet district secretary C V Dhinakaran issued an official statement confirming Veera's removal. Dhinakaran stated that Veera was stripped of his party membership because he had acted against the interests of the party.

Before being taken in by the police for questioning, Veera spoke to reporters in Mambakkam to strongly deny all the corruption allegations. He claimed that the money shown in the video was not a bribe but rather the repayment of a personal loan.

Veera explained that he had previously lent money to the contractor, and the contractor was merely returning the borrowed funds. He defended himself by questioning the plausibility of the bribery allegations, asking if anyone would accept a bribe inside their own office or through an online payment method.

Furthermore, Veera alleged that the corruption charges were being fabricated and levelled against him specifically to defame TVK and the chief minister. He argued that if the contractor had a genuine grievance, they could have lodged an official complaint with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC). Instead, Veera claimed, the contractor released the video online solely to tarnish his image.