Stalin cuts TVK govt's 'grace' period, says people predict regime downfall in 3 months

CHENNAI: DMK president and former Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday seemed to shift from his earlier stance of offering a "6-month wait and watch" approach to the TVK government, claiming that the regime won't even last 3 months.

Addressing party cadres after inducting former VCK MLA 'Panaiyur' M Babu into the party at an event in Anna Arivalayam, Stalin packaged his statement as "growing public discussion over whether the government would even last another three months."

"When this government assumed office, we said we would refrain from criticism for six months. But now, people themselves are wondering whether this government can survive even three months," Stalin said.

Babu, who won the Cheyyur Assembly constituency on a VCK ticket in the 2021 elections, had quit the party last month, accusing its leadership of taking contradictory political positions after the 2026 Assembly polls.

Speaking at the event, Babu described the DMK as his mother party and credited Stalin for implementing several welfare and infrastructure projects in Cheyyur during his tenure as MLA.

"They are attempting to create an impression that the TVK government alone stands with Dalits. But Tamil Nadu remains a land of social justice because of the Dravidian model created by Stalin," he said, while alleging that farmers, women and the public were affected by power cuts and administrative failures under the present TVK government.

Welcoming Babu into the party, Stalin said the former MLA had consistently raised constituency-related issues constructively in the Assembly and had left the VCK without resorting to personal attacks.

Later, speaking to reporters, Babu claimed that VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan had himself expressed doubts about CM C Joseph Vijay. He also clarified that Velicham Television, launched in support of Thirumavalavan, was solely owned and funded by him and had no organisational link with the VCK.