Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday, September 3, threw down the gauntlet to the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in the Assembly, asking its members to remain in the House on Monday for his detailed reply to their allegations, rather than stage a walkout.
Intervening during a debate, the Chief Minister requested Speaker J CD Prabhakar to elicit a firm promise from the DMK members that they would remain in their seats throughout his address.
Assuring a comprehensive response, Vijay said he would provide a clear and point-by-point explanation to every question raised by the opposition during the ongoing session.
The exchange came amid a heated debate on the state administration’s handling of law and order, where the Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin sought to corner the ruling TVK government.
Leading the charge, Udhayanidhi Stalin questioned the TVK’s frequent critiques of the previous DMK administration’s handling of drug proliferation.
Pointing to current administrative decisions, the DMK leader argued that if the previous regime’s drug control efforts had truly been ineffective, the present government would not have promoted two senior police officers who headed those very departments during the DMK’s tenure. He specifically named the two IPS officials.
He alleged that there was a rise in POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) cases in the state, and also an increase in crimes, and highlighted that his government established special committees and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to support victims and ensured swift justice.
Regarding drug enforcement, he questioned why certain police officers who served during the previous DMK rule were promoted to high-ranking positions by the current TVK government if their previous efforts were allegedly insufficient.
Immediately, the Chief Minister got up from his seat and remarked, “Honourable Speaker, for all the questions raised by the honourable members, I will provide a clear explanation when I come on Monday. Even if I am not here, I will receive information about who is asking what questions. I will provide a clear answer to everything. I have one request through you – no one should get up and run away.”
Resuming his speech, Udhayanidhi Stalin levelled several allegations against the TVK government, especially its handling of democratic protests and student dissent. Especially, suppression of protests such as the anti-NEET demonstrations at Marina Beach and alleged political interference, and remarked, “We expected the Chief Minister to respond. But he said he would reply on Monday and walked out of the House.”
Defending the administration, Public Works and Sports Development Minister Aadhav Arjuna criticised the previous DMK regime led by MK Stalin on the handling of law and order, specifically questioning the data presented in their policy notes regarding crime rates, such as murder statistics from 2020 and 2021.
The minister alleged that the previous government attempted to conceal crime statistics and claimed that the current administration ensured more transparent reporting of incidents.
The session became chaotic when opposition members stood up in protest. At this, Arjuna remarked, “the opposition is afraid of the truth being revealed,” leading to further noisy scenes in the House.
Speaker JCD Prabhakar requested the members to maintain order and invited School Education Minister S Rajmohan to reply to the DMK, which allegedly questioned his political loyalty, accusing him of speaking in the Assembly as though he was participating in television debates.
Admitting that he had indeed been a television debater in the past, supporting the DMK, Rajmohan said his current position in the legislative assembly as a Minister was made possible by his TVK party leader Vijay, whom he credited for transforming common people into achievers.
