DMK President MK Stalin blames BJP of using NIA for political advantages

Chennai: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President MK Stalin on Tuesday accused the BJP of using the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for taking political advantages and targeting innocent Muslims in the state.

"BJP is using NIA for political advantages. It is targeting the innocent Muslims in Tamil Nadu by conducting NIA raids and torturing them which is not accepted," Stalin said in a statement.

The DMK leader also insisted on the AIADMK government to question the centre's move and warned of protests if BJP continues to use the "NIA for political benefits".

"The BJP is trying to polarise votes by targeting the minorities in the state and the AIADMK government which should question is silent on this. If NIA is used for political benefits again, DMK will raise the issue in the Parliament and will protest democratically," the statement said.

Stalin questioned the need to NIA in the state when there is already a 'Q branch' within the state police department, which deals with similar cases.

"The state already has a 'Q branch' that deals with such terror modules which is directly controlled by Deputy General of Police and monitored by the Chief Minister. Why should NIA conduct raids and arrest people bypassing the state agencies?" it added.