Chennai: Former chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the TVK govt, accusing it of failing to maintain law and order, indulging in horse-trading and using reels and other distractions to divert public attention from governance issues.Addressing the DMK’s annual Mupperum Vizha at Anna Arivalayam, Stalin said, “The chief minister is arrogant and believes he can fix everything with charm. His refusal to answer media questions reflects that arrogance. This bypoll is an opportunity to teach him a lesson. Vote for DMK.” He accused the TVK of engineering defections and forcing the bypolls on the people, saying such elections are usually held after an MLA’s death, but that the two bypolls were necessitated by the “death of democracy”. He remarked while taking a swipe at the TVK and its leader’s claim of representing “Thooya Sakthi” (pure force).Describing the state govt as dysfunctional, Stalin alleged that Tamil Nadu had become a hunting ground for criminals, with murders and shootings taking place in broad daylight. He also accused ruling party members of selling drugs and being involved in sexual offences. “It is a competition between min vettu and aruva vettu (power cuts and machete cuts) under the TVK govt,” he said.Stalin said the chief minister had earlier announced he had stopped acting in films but was now acting in front of the people. “The chief minister is on a shooting schedule, this time a foreign shoot,” he said, questioning the purpose of the London visit to attract investments without the industries minister or the department secretary accompanying him. He also alleged that the TVK govt had pushed the state back by 25 years by abandoning the Parandur airport project.The DMK leader also accused the TVK of resorting to slander and diverting attention from Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin’s questions on poor governance by making irrelevant references to the MISA and Sarkaria Commission. “I have only one thing to say to those who talk about MISA: I do not need to prove my arrest under MISA to anyone. None of you is qualified to evaluate my sacrifice,” he said. Stalin asked his critics to read the prison diary of former mayor C Chittibabu and the Ismail Commission report, constituted by former chief minister M G Ramachandran.In a sarcastic reference to developments in the Assembly, Stalin thanked the people of his Kolathur constituency, saying his defeat had spared him from witnessing the unpalatable events in the House, which he claimed had lost its dignity. “People may have been deceived once. If you think they will continue to be deceived, then the current chief minister will be the one who is deceived,” he said, adding that the TVK should instead have been named the “Tamilaga Reels Party”.Stalin presented awards in various categories, including the Kalaignar Award to DMK MP Tiruchi Siva.
