BJP leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said every rupee “looted” by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and his ministers would be retrieved and brought back to the coffers of Tamil Nadu for accelerating the State’s holistic development.

Addressing an Assembly election meeting at Puliyangudi in Vasudevanallur (SC) constituency after participating in a roadshow, Mr. Singh alleged Mr. Stalin and his council of ministers had betrayed Tamil people and ruined Tamil Nadu, known everywhere for its rich culture, with their maladministration and rampant corruption. He said a DMK Minister and his wife were convicted by the Madras High Court and claimed another minister plundering mineral resources had looted more than ₹5,000 crore in illicit sand mining in the past five years.