Chennai: Mayor R Priya on Thursday criticised the state govt over spiralling prices of essential goods and expressed concerns over women’s safety, narcotic drug seizures and prison escapes.Addressing the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) council meeting on Thursday, she pointed to the price hike for everyday rice, the sale of ration rice at ₹30 a kg in ration shops, higher prices for Aavin milk products and costlier pulses. “If Tamil Nadu is number one in anything in India today, it is in price rise,” she said.Priya also said law and order had worsened in the TVK-led govt. She said Tamil Nadu was no longer safe for women and girl children, and that reports of drugs worth several kilograms being stored by members of the ruling party and of prisoners escaping from jails, are news almost every day.She added that DMK had lost polls linked to the deletion of voters during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. She added that the Election Commission was undemocratic and asked why it had not responded to the allegations of irregularities.The mayor also congratulated Navanethem Pillay on winning the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Oct 9. On sports, she said Tamil athlete Vithya Ramraj had broken P T Usha’s 1984 record at the Asian Games in Japan. She credited Udhayanidhi Stalin’s work as former sports minister for helping many athletes win medals at the Asian Para Games, calling it ‘another victory for the Dravidian Model govt.’
