CHENNAI: Responding in kind to Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami’s critique of the L&O situation in the State, DMK organising secretary RS Bharathi on Thursday said that Palaniswami, who helmed a subservient government that turned the Law and Order situation chaotic in Tamil Nadu, does not deserve to talk about the Dravidian model government.
Comparing the L&O situation of the previous EPS and incumbent regimes, Bharathi, in a statement loaded with development and crime statistics, said, “Frustrated with the overwhelming impact the Dravidian model government has created among the people through its people-centric welfare schemes, a bewildered Palaniswami is trying to do politics by spreading lies and slander, just like his Delhi masters.”
Comparing the GSDP growth rate of 3.25% in 2019-20 during Palaniswami’s reign to 9.69% in 2024–25 under CM Stalin, Bharathi said that Palaniswami, who presided over a failed government, has no right to criticise the Dravidian model governance. Accusing the LoP of cheaply politicising an incident of a police officer from Avadi harassing a woman, ignoring the officer’s immediate arrest, the DMK organising secretary said that the Dravidian model regime did not shamefully drag its feet during the infamous Pollachi sexual assault case. “The government under Chief Minister Stalin ensures strict and immediate action against anyone—no matter who they are and who commits crimes against women,” he added.
Also citing the Nirmala Devi case, where a professor tried to push students into sex work and the infamous Villivakkam incident, where a special police officer sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl, Bharathi said, “If we start listing these, pages wouldn’t suffice. AIADMK’s rule left Tamil Nadu’s women unprotected in an atmosphere of fear.”
He also listed out infamous crimes under the AIADMK regime.