Allies enjoy Cabinet berth, yet criticise Vijay govt: MDMK general secretary Vaiko

CHENNAI: In an apparent reference to the VCK and Congress leaders criticising the ruling government on select public issues, MDMK general secretary Vaiko on Tuesday criticised two constituents of the ruling alliance for allegedly targeting the government led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay despite being part of the Cabinet, triggering fresh political unease within the Secular Social Justice Victory Alliance.

Speaking at a party meeting titled ‘34 years of Vaiko’s political journey’ here, Vaiko said leaders of two parties in the ruling alliance were criticising the Vijay government almost every day.

“What is surprising is that they are criticising the ruling party despite being part of the Cabinet. However, MDMK and the Indian Union Muslim League, which are also part of the ruling alliance, have refrained from such criticism,” he said.

Vaiko also hit out at the DMK and its allies for repeatedly criticising the Vijay government over law and order issues, including sexual offences, murders and other crimes reported over the past six months.

He alleged that corruption had spread across departments during the previous DMK regime and cited alleged irregularities in procuring books for the Periyar Arivulagam in Coimbatore. “If corruption has taken place even in a library, which is supposed to be a repository of knowledge, one can imagine the extent of corruption in other departments,” he said.

Speaking to reporters, Vaiko dismissed allegations that the Vijay government had worsened law and order and increased corruption.

He described those repeatedly issuing statements against the government as “masters of press statements” and said people would not take their allegations seriously.

Vaiko said he had released a compilation of statistics on criminal offences, including murder, robbery and sexual violence, during the tenures of previous AIADMK and DMK governments.