Chennai, Dec. 27: Former Tamil Nadu chief secretary P. Rama Mohana Rao termed the IT raids on his house and office as a "constitutional assault on the office of the chief secretary" and claimed it would not have happened if "Madam Jayalalithaa had been alive".
Piling pressure on chief minister O. Panneerselvam, Rao asserted: "This state government has no guts to serve me a transfer order. No order has been issued to me till now. I claim I am still the chief secretary appointed by Puratchi Thalaivi Honourable Madam."
Rao tried to convert the raid into a political challenge to the AIADMK by the Centre. Pointing out that his house was searched at gunpoint by armed CRPF jawans, he alleged: "If it can happen to me, what about the fate of ordinary AIADMK cadres? In this state, in the absence of Madam, there is no security."
His political intent became clearer when he thanked Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi for their criticism of the raid. On Sunday, AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP and former Union minister S.R. Balasubramoniyan had also criticised the presence of CRPF in the state secretariat as an affront to state autonomy.
Rao appeared to be implying that the Centre was playing its political games using Jayalalithaa's absence and the uncertainty over the AIADMK leadership, and that he had become a pawn.
With Delhi backing Panneerselvam, the Sasikala camp is nervous that the IT raids on Rao were aimed at arm-twisting it from posing any challenge to the chief minister.
An official of the state public department that notified the appointment of Girija Vaidyanathan as the new chief secretary said: "Transfer orders are first notified in the state gazette and a copy is later sent by post to the officer concerned. In his case, it was also sent by a special messenger."
Rao, addressing a crowded news meet at his Anna Nagar residence this morning, termed the whole exercise political, suggesting it was scripted by the Centre. He alleged that the search warrant produced by the IT officials did not have his name but only that of his son.
A senior IT officer said a search warrant only carried the address that needs to be searched and not the name of any individual. "What if the individual mentioned has disappeared leaving behind incriminating evidence? Hence, only addresses are mentioned in the warrants and the person's name if we are sure about his presence there," he said.
DMK leader M.K. Stalin said that by claiming he continued to be chief secretary Rao had challenged Panneerselvam's authority. "It is time the chief minister spoke up," he said.
