The Tamil Nadu Assembly witnessed an uproar at the outset of Monday's proceedings, with DMK members raising slogans and urging the Speaker to take up a discussion on the continuous murders and the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
Addressing the Assembly, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay said the police should be "a friend to good people and an enemy to bad people", stressing that the law should be equal for everyone. He said action would be taken against anyone committing a crime irrespective of political affiliation. "I want to place on record an important point in this House - as far as the Police Department is concerned, it should be a friend to good people and an enemy to bad people. Law is equal for everyone. Whoever commits a crime, action will be taken irrespective of party lines. That is our policy," CM Vijay said.
Vijay further said the police should not become a power centre but should instead protect the people. On the crimes reported over the past three months, Vijay said they did not occur all at once and attributed them to past enmity and revenge. "The police should not be a power centre; they should be the protectors of the people. The crimes reported in the past three months did not happen all at once. All of them were driven by past enmity and revenge," he said.
He also said he was determined to put an end to the drug culture in the state, while stating that 36 people had been arrested in connection with the murder of a student at a college in Coimbatore. "I want to bring a new dimension to the Police Department. 36 people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a student in Coimbatore College. There are multiple factors behind every crime. Opposition parties use such situations to blame the ruling government. As a brother to our youngsters, I am determined to put an end to the drug culture in Tamil Nadu,” the chief minister said.
The chief minister said his government has "zero tolerance towards corruption" and outlined measures to curb the drug menace and prevent crimes against women and children in the state. "We have zero tolerance towards corruption. Peer pressure has become a reason for the drug culture in Tamil Nadu. Anti-drug squads have been set up in all 37 districts. Under the NDPS Act, 330 cases were filed in Chennai, and 556 people were arrested in the last three months. There are multiple factors behind crimes against women and children. We intend to prevent crimes even before they happen. This government has formed the Singappen Special Force to prevent crimes against women," he further said. (ANI)
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