Speaking to reporters here he said the IG (Idol wing) Pon Manickavel is doing a fine job and an active officer. The issue is that, idol smuggling is found to be not only within Tamil Nadu but also across the entire country. Idol theft happens at every corner in India. And most of these stolen idols are smuggled to foreign countries illegally. “So, in order to bring back those idols, we need the help of the Central government. And for those operations and retrieval, we require the CBI to investigate the cases. That’s the main reason why all the idol smuggling cases were being transferred from Pon Manickavel to the CBI” said the Deputy Speaker.

Meanwhile, Thambidurai also welcomed the demand of opposition parties that the ballot paper should be used in the 2019 election. “Our former chief minister J Jayalalithaa had always shown her support for the ballot paper voting system. Even in many foreign countries, it was proven and universally accepted that ballot paper voting is the best way to conduct elections. So, it would be great if they bring back the ballot papers,” he said.