DMK now 'Drug Marketing Kazhagam': BJP after NCB arrests 'drug lord' Jaffer Sadiq

New Delhi, Mar 10 (PTI) A day after a former DMK functionary was arrested in connection with an international drugs trafficking racket, the BJP on Sunday demanded that party chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin explain his relationship with the accused.

The party charged that the arrest shows that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has now become "Drug Marketing Kazhagam".

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday arrested 36-year-old Jaffer Sadiq, an expelled DMK functionary in Tamil Nadu, in connection with its investigation into the drugs trafficking racket estimated to be worth more than Rs 2,000 crore.

Reacting to the development, BJP Mahila Morcha chief Vanathi Srinivasan targeted Stalin and alleged that "it seems" the Tamil Nadu chief minister's family members are closely associated with the accused.

"Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi, daughter-in-law of Chief Minister M K Stalin has directed a film produced by Jaffer Sadiq. All his social media posts show how close he was with Tamil Nadu sports minister (Udayanidhi Stalin), son of M K Stalin," she told a press conference at the BJP headquarters here.

"Some of the ruling party (DMK) ministers seem to be very close to Jaffer," she alleged and demanded that Stalin explain his relationship with the alleged "mastermind" of a trans-national pseudoephedrine smuggling racket.

"We believe that Jaffer Sadiq used all his political connections in illicit drug trafficking in various countries. It seems that while being an office-bearer of the ruling party (DMK), he developed a very strong network with the police. In one picture, DGP is seen presenting some kind of award to this accused," Srinivasan said.

After Jaffer Sadiq's, NCB deputy director general (operations) Gyaneshwar Singh told reporters here that Sadiq's linkages with the Tamil and Hindi film industries and some "high-profile" people apart from some instances of "political funding" were under the scanner of the agency.

Addressing the press conference, BJP leader Tom Vadakkan said that with Sadiq's arrest in connection with an international drug peddling racket, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has now become "Drug Marketing Kazhagam".

"Stalin and company have reduced the DMK government (in Tamil Nadu) into a drug marketing Kazhagam," he charged.

Vaddakan also trained guns at the opposition parties' INDIA bloc and asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi if drug trafficking is acceptable to him.

"Is this the kind of alignment you are trying to bring in Tamil Nadu?" he further asked Gandhi.

He said illegal drugs trafficking is against the national interest and only Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah who can firmly deal with the menace.

He appealed to the people to "give them another chance" by voting for the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha Sabha polls to see drug peddlers in jail.

Sadiq was arrested in Delhi on the basis of specific intelligence inputs and he is the "mastermind and kingpin" of a trans-national pseudoephedrine smuggling racket spread across Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia from India, the NCB deputy director general (operations) said on Saturday.

Sources told PTI that a high-profile DMK leader could soon be summoned by the NCB for questioning with regard to some monetary transactions worth a few lakh rupees.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will soon register a money laundering case to probe this racket by taking cognisance of this NCB case, the agency sources said. PTI