Vaiko calls Guv Arlekar ‘bonded labourer’ of Centre, vows MDMK will shield TVK govt

COIMBATORE: MDMK chief Vaiko on Sunday said his party will act as an "armour and a shield" for the ruling TVK government in Tamil Nadu.

He also described Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar as a "bonded labourer" of the present union government, accusing him of attempting to run a parallel administration and overstepping his constitutional boundaries.

"MDMK will act as an armour and a shield to block the arrows coming from the opposition side against this government run by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay," Vaiko told reporters at the Coimbatore Airport.

The veteran leader fiercely condemned the governor's active inspection of state projects and his reported suggestions to invoke Article 356 to dismiss the newly elected state government.

"Mr Arlekar, you are a bonded labourer of the present union government. What authority do you have? Only the rulers elected by the people can run the administration. Is this the governor's rule?" Vaiko questioned angrily, warning against back-door entries by Hindutva forces into Tamil Nadu.

He lauded the current governance for eliminating the culture of "commission, cutting, and corruption", describing it as a "Himalayan achievement".

Vaiko detailed his party's exit from the DMK alliance, citing "disrespectful treatment and highhandedness" during seat-allocation talks.

Accusing long-time ally DMK of attempting to allegedly prop up an AIADMK government, the MDMK general council, led by party chief Vaiko, had announced its decision to snap ties with the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance.

Turning to the Mekedatu dam dispute, Vaiko issued a grave warning, stating that Karnataka's proposed project poses an existential threat to Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu has been opposed to Karnataka’s move to construct the balancing reservoir at Mekedatu in that state, claiming it would affect its interests.

The project proposes to meet the drinking water requirements of Bengaluru, besides hydel power generation.

He asserted that the dam would choke water flow to the Mettur dam and the Kollidam river, depriving nearly 25 districts of drinking water and turning the fertile Chola Mandala region into a desert.

Accusing the BJP-led central government of "secretly instigating" and backing Karnataka's moves despite Supreme Court rulings, Vaiko urged the people of Tamil Nadu to launch a massive, state-wide protest on the scale of the historic 1965 anti-Hindi agitations to safeguard the state's water rights.