Gingee N Ramachandran, former Union minister of state for finance, did not commit any wrong and resigned on his own, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Vaiko claimed on Tuesday.
Ramachandran had to put in his papers after his personal assistant, Perumal Swamy, was caught by Central Bureau of Investigation sleuths accepting a bribe of Rs 400,000 from senior Indian Revenue Service official Anurag Vardhan for 'arranging' his transfer.
Vaiko, who addressed the press before being produced before the POTA court in Ponamallee on Tuesday, quoted Ramachandran to argue that only Union Finance Minister Jaswant Singh had the power to transfer officials of Vardhan's seniority.
"Transfers of these officials are intimated to the minister of state only for the purpose of information," Vaiko said. He claimed that Ramachandran had shown him the finance ministry circular in this regard.
Ramachandran had visited Vaiko in Vellore jail on Monday.
Vaiko also claimed Ramachandran had quit on his own, and not under any pressure. "It was done to uphold democratic norms, and not allow opposition parties to exploit the situation," he said. "I am completely convinced of Ramachandran's innocence."