Beware of hit squads, RB Udhayakumar warns CM Vijay

CHENNAI: AIADMK deputy general secretary RB Udhayakumar on Saturday issued a veiled threat to Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, saying loyal party cadres could turn into a "suicide squad" if the ruling TVK attempted to "usurp" or destroy the AIADMK.

In a video message posted on his WhatsApp group on Independence Day, Udhayakumar said that if the AIADMK faced an alleged "invasion" by TVK, cadres would fight back. He warned that it would be difficult to predict whether Vijay would remain alive to hoist the national flag on Independence Day in future.

Invoking the legacy of former AIADMK leaders MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, Udhayakumar said loyal cadres would sacrifice their lives to protect the party. He called TVK's attempts to induct AIADMK functionaries the "height of abuse of power".

He accused Vijay of using social media, paid influencers, and content creators to build a "false image", while criticising the government over its alleged failure to implement election promises. Udhayakumar urged Vijay to focus instead on poverty eradication, employment generation, industrial and agricultural development, and Tamil Nadu's claims over the Cauvery and Mullaiperiyar rivers and Katchatheevu.

Recently, Udhayakumar triggered controversy by asking when actor Trisha would be appointed Deputy Chief Minister. "Tamil Nadu awaits to see when Vijay's 'beloved' Trisha will be appointed as Deputy Chief Minister," he said at a Jayalalithaa Peravai meeting in Thoothukudi on August 8.