Annamalai, TR Balu Appear Before Chennai Court in DMK Files Defamation Case

K Annamalai

Bhartiya Janta Party's (BJP) former state president K Annamalai and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) treasurer T.R. Balu appeared before the Saidpet court in Chennai today, in regard to a defamation case filed by Balu against Annamalai.

The case dates back to Annamalai's release of the DMK Files, which listed the assets of T.R. Balu and other DMK leaders, allegedly making false claims about Balu's ownership of 21 companies.

T.R. Balu had appeared in the court before and testified for about an hour and a half. The case is being heard by Magistrate Senthil Kumar.

Paul Kanagaraj, Annamalai's lawyer, had earlier cross-examined Balu. The case was adjourned to October 13, and it is expected that the cross-examination of Balu will continue.

Meanwhile, BJP Leader Annamalai hit out at the ruling DMK, calling them "arrogant," further asserting that there is a need for the BJP to secure all its votes ahead of the upcoming Bihar elections.

"The DMK is arrogant, thinking that if there is a split in votes, they will come to power. We must break that notion and secure all the votes for our party. We need to win over the votes against the DMK as well as the general public's votes," Annamalai said while addressing the media.

A day earlier, Annamalai had accused the DMK of relying on money power to secure votes and urged voters to support the National Democratic Alliance in ousting the DMK from power.

"DMK is brazenly confident that the party will come back to power. They believe they can buy votes by distributing money, thinking that the wealth they have accumulated over four years can be used to sway voters during the election...DMK must be removed from power, and the National Democratic Alliance must come to power," he said.