Stalin Accuses CM Vijay of Using Reels to Mask Administrative Failures

DMK president M.K. Stalin on Thursday accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay of turning to social media reels to divert attention from what he termed the inefficient administration of the government and the cheating of an entire generation.

In a video message issued in response to the Chief Minister, who had made a series of allegations against the DMK and its leaders in the Assembly and had body-shamed him over the police attack he suffered during the Emergency in the House, Mr. Stalin said a lie often reaches people before the truth does, and that this was what was happening now.

Addressing Mr. Vijay directly, the DMK leader said Tamil Nadu was witnessing daily murders and sexual assaults against women, and that the law and order situation was in disarray.

He went on to list what he described as unfulfilled commitments. According to him, the cancellation of the airport project at Parandur had set development back by 15 years; a promised total crop loan waiver had not been delivered; the pledge of six free LPG cylinders had been scaled down to three; and the Magalir Urimai Thittam amount, promised to be raised to ₹2,500, continued at the DMK-era level of ₹1,000 a month. He said the Chief Minister had remained silent on many other promises.

On the Sarkaria Commission inquiry into alleged corruption during the DMK government led by former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Mr. Stalin said there was no truth in what Mr. Vijay had stated in the Assembly. Governments had changed both in the State and at the Centre since the report was submitted, he noted, arguing that action would have followed had the findings held any substance.

He said the Chief Minister had seized on allegations made against Karunanidhi by others out of political animosity. Referring to the Enforcement Directorate, he said that in 95% of the allegations cited by the agency there was no proof, and those accused were spared action. He added that it was widely understood that the ED was being used to settle political scores, and pointed out that the agency had filed cases against leaders of the Congress, a partner in the ruling alliance, wondering how the Chief Minister was unaware of this despite treating the Union Government as an ideological opponent.

Mr. Stalin reminded Mr. Vijay of the dignity of the Tamil Nadu Assembly, describing it as a forum where great leaders had shaped the State. He urged the Chief Minister to use it to debate how to restore law and order, secure the State's rights and put Tamil Nadu on the path of development, rather than discuss unnecessary issues.

Appealing to voters, especially the young, he asked them to reflect on whether the change they had voted for had actually materialised, and to judge which government was capable of administrative competence.

He also called on DMK cadres not to remain indifferent to people's suffering on the ground that they had not voted for the party. Describing such service as the other face of the same coin, he said the DMK had fought for the rights and development of Tamil Nadu and its people across generations, whether in power or not.