CHENNAI: Taking a dig at the ruling TVK over allegations of crimes against women and children and the alleged deterioration in law and order, BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran on Saturday termed the government a ‘great misfortune’ for the State and accused Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay of failing to act against errant party functionaries.
Speaking to reporters at Kamalalayam after inducting more than 100 members from other political parties, including the ruling TVK, into the BJP, Nainar alleged that incidents of children going missing and offences against women had exposed the government’s failure to ensure public safety. “There is nothing surprising about children going missing in the State. A child who went missing last month is yet to be traced. The TVK government has turned out to be a great misfortune for the State,” he said.
Alleging that misconduct against women had become widespread among TVK functionaries, he referred to an audio clip purportedly featuring a party functionary making derogatory remarks about a woman party member and questioned the Chief Minister’s silence.
He also alleged that the party’s Kallakurichi MLA, C Arul Vignesh, had acknowledged the accusations, claiming that even TVK members had done so. He faulted the government for failing to act and demanded a special court to handle the matter.
Calling for judicial intervention, the BJP leader urged the Madras High Court to take suo motu cognisance of the allegations against the Kallakurichi MLA.
The BJP would stage a protest in Kallakurichi on November 18 under the leadership of former State president Tamilisai Soundararajan, he announced.
Accusing the government of letting law and order deteriorate, the former minister said the Chief Minister directly controls the police and intelligence machinery. He contrasted the situation with the previous AIADMK regime (2011-21), claiming that it acted promptly on complaints.
He also criticised the Chief Minister for attending student-related engagements while, he alleged, serious crimes, including murder, robbery and sexual offences, continued to be reported in the State.