India, May 22 -- Tamil Nadu's ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court's stay on the Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s probe into the state-run liquor distribution corporation's alleged money laundering, calling it a "blow" to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s efforts to "malign" the state government.

A bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih rebuked the ED and said the agency had been "crossing all limits" while probing some cases.

DMK leader R S Bharathi cited the court order and said they hope the Union government stops misusing the ED. "The ED has become an agency to blackmail across India, which is what even the Supreme Court pointed out," he said. He added that there have been cases of E...