Chennai: Government action has been intensified regarding the irregularities that took place in the purchase of books for libraries, including the Coimbatore Periyar Arivulagam. Anti-Corruption Police conducted a raid at the Anna Centenary Library in Chennai.
During the previous DMK regime, Chief Minister Vijay inaugurated the Periyar Arivulagam library, built at a cost of Rs. 300 crore in Gandhipuram, Coimbatore, on October 13. Former Chief Minister and DMK leader M.K. Stalin visited this library in person and inspected it on the 4th.
In this situation, writer Perumal Murugan made a sensational allegation on social media, claiming that corruption had taken place in the purchase of books for the Coimbatore Periyar Library. Regarding this issue, the ruling party TVK and the former ruling DMK have been trading accusations back and forth.
Following the Coimbatore Periyar Library, allegations have also surfaced that irregularities took place in book purchases at the Chennai Anna Centenary Library, the Connemara Library, and the Madurai Kalaignar Centenary Library.
Sudden change in the Director of the Public Libraries Department
In the issue involving irregularities in library procurement, S. Jayanti, who had been serving as the Chairperson of the Teachers Recruitment Board while also holding the post of Director of the Public Libraries Department as an additional charge, was suddenly relieved of that responsibility the day before yesterday (Sunday).
The Tamil Nadu government ordered that R.V. Shajivana, who is serving as the Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation, will additionally look after the responsibilities of the Director of the Public Libraries Department, while Jayanti will continue as the Chairperson of the Teachers Recruitment Board.
In this context, a delegation led by R.S. Shanmugam, president of the South Indian Booksellers and Publishers Association (BAPASI), met School Education Minister A. Rajmohan at the Connemara Library in Chennai yesterday to discuss the issues and irregularities in the purchase of books for libraries and how to prevent them. At that time, they clarified that publishers such as Phoenix, Sigma, and Agalvilakku, which were linked to the irregularities, are not members of BAPASI.
After conducting an inspection at the Connemara Public Library yesterday, Minister Rajmohan told reporters: Around 523 fake books have been identified in the Connemara Library alone. Using AI, they wrote books and published them by twisting the names of actors. These books were purchased last year itself. The seal for that is on those books.
These books were distributed through publishers including Agalvilakku. However, the book publishers’ association, BAPASI, was not even aware of that publisher. Likewise, international scholar John Terris has alleged that a book he did not write was purchased in 2023 by the Kalaignar Library in Madurai. How did the DMK, which was in power at the time, allow this?
A proper investigation into this matter will be conducted by the Anti-Corruption Police. The Tamil Nadu government has now intensified action, and procurement for libraries across the state has been temporarily suspended. Everyone involved in this irregularity will be brought before the law.
This irregularity has taken place not only in Periyar Arivulagam but also in the Kalaignar Library. Therefore, a detailed investigation is going to be carried out in all libraries across Tamil Nadu regarding this fraud. The Anti-Corruption Police have also now begun an inquiry with the controversial Akalvilakku publishers. No one can escape in this matter. He said this.
In this situation, on the orders of the Director of the Anti-Corruption Department, Additional DGP Prem Anand Sinha, Chennai Anti-Corruption Wing police went to the Anna Centenary Library in Kotturpuram, Chennai, yesterday evening and conducted a search. In addition, library department officials also carried out a search at the Anna Centenary Library under the leadership of Shajivana, who has been appointed as the new acting Director of the Public Libraries Department.
Demand to set up a commission of inquiry
Former Madras High Court judge T. Ariparandhaman, researchers S.V. Rajadurai and R. Balakrishnan, Professor V. Arasu, former Vice-Chancellor Professor L. Jawahar Nesan, and more than 100 academics and writers issued the following joint statement yesterday:
We express our condemnation and opposition to the presence of many fake books in the Coimbatore Periyar intellectual sphere that lack authenticity and intellectual value. A commission of inquiry should be set up under the supervision of the Madras High Court to investigate this irregularity. The culprits should be punished, treating it as an anti-national act. They said this.
