Sridhar Vembu: 'Disgusting level of corruption in Tamil Nadu under DMK'

Sridhar Vembu, the Zoho founder, has launched yet another attack on the DMK, alleging that the party presided over corruption of staggering scale during its time in power. "We had nauseating, disgusting levels of corruption in Tamil Nadu under the DMK. This is known to the entire universe, not some grand secret," he wrote in a post on X, pulling no punches.

"It reached such Himalayan heights," he added, that even the party's own finance minister — someone he described as not personally corrupt but 'caught up with the corrupt crowd' was heard complaining about it.

The PTR episode revisited

The finance minister Vembu is referring to is Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, widely known as PTR, a Harvard-educated former banker who served as Tamil Nadu's finance minister from 2021 before being moved to the IT portfolio in a cabinet reshuffle in May 2023. The reshuffle came in the wake of leaked audio clips, shared widely on social media and amplified by BJP's then-Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai, that purportedly featured PTR's voice making pointed allegations of corruption against members of CM MK Stalin's family, including his son Udhayanidhi. In one of the clips, the speaker was heard alleging that the CM's son and son-in-law were helping themselves to a bulk of the spoils.

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PTR denied the clips were authentic, calling them "malicious and fabricated," but notably did not file a police complaint or pursue a defamation case. Within weeks, he was stripped of the finance portfolio, widely seen as one of the most powerful posts in the state cabinet — and handed the IT ministry instead. Political observers at the time called it an unambiguous demotion driven by loss of trust within the party's top leadership.

Vembu used this episode to make a larger point. "Sadly for him his remarks became public and he was demoted to become the IT Minister," he wrote, framing PTR as a man of integrity who paid the price for speaking the truth in the wrong company.

Not an ideological argument

Vembu was also careful to stress that his critique of the DMK goes beyond political partisanship. "This is not about ideology," he wrote. "Even the Marxists of Kerala, then allied with the DMK, would say how deeply corrupt the DMK was." He went on to express admiration for K N Balagopal, the former finance minister of Kerala, as someone whose public service he deeply respected despite disagreeing with him on political philosophy — a rhetorical move designed to reinforce that his criticism of the DMK is rooted in governance, not ideology.

Not the first time

This is not Vembu's first public run-in with the DMK. In May this year, he waded into the controversy over Udhayanidhi Stalin's repeated calls for the abolition of Sanatana Dharma, remarks that Udhayanidhi made both during the election campaign and later as Leader of the Opposition in the assembly.

Vembu's post at the time explored why the attacks on "Sanatanam" had not generated stronger outrage among Tamil-speaking Hindus, arguing that it came down to language — the word "sanathanam" not being in everyday Tamil use unlike "dharmam" or "aram." He was pointed in his conclusion though: that Udhayanidhi's remarks were steadily making the word more familiar among Tamil Hindus and had only widened the anti-DMK sentiment that had already contributed to the party's defeat in the 2026 assembly elections.

Also Read: Why PTR rejected TN govt's White Paper on state's finances | Interview

A day after the assembly ruckus

Vembu's post comes a day after a stormy session in the Tamil Nadu assembly in which CM Vijay, delivering his maiden speech in the house in response to the Motion of Thanks on the Governor's Address, accused the DMK of siphoning TASMAC revenues in the name of party funds. "The money looted in TASMAC in the name of party funds is now being brought back to the government treasury," Vijay told the assembly.

The remarks triggered a sharp reaction from DMK MLAs, with Udhayanidhi Stalin, now Leader of the Opposition, demanding that the chief minister back his allegations with evidence. The confrontation escalated into a ruckus and eventually a walkout by DMK legislators. Vijay held his ground, declaring that his government knew how to serve the people but did not know "how to siphon off public money."

Shoot the messenger, says Vembu

Rather than engaging with the substance of such criticism, Vembu argues, the DMK has chosen to attack those who raise it. "Instead, they spend their time attacking a messenger like me as a TVK stooge or a Brahmin or a Sanghi and so on," he wrote. To drive his point home, he reached for Thirukkural 423 — a couplet that broadly counsels judging a message by its merit rather than the identity of the one who delivers it. "Focus on the message, even if the message comes from a 'Brahmin Sanghi TVK stooge' like me," he said.