CHENNAI: DMK deputy general secretary and MP A Raja on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, accusing him of lacking constitutional morality and temperament befitting his office. “Why does he show hesitation, confusion and helplessness inside the assembly, but roar in Tiruchy? Whoever wrote that script should answer,” Raja told reporters at Anna Arivalayam on Tuesday.
Referring to BR Ambedkar’s speech in the Constituent Assembly, Raja said constitutional morality which applies to chief ministers, ministers and prime ministers alike, was conspicuously absent in Vijay’s conduct in Tiruchy.“He (Vijay) has degraded his own office by speaking without accountability,” he said.
Raja also took aim at Vijay’s visit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying CMs of Assam, West Bengal and Kerala were given 40-50 minutes each with the PM, but TN’s CM was allotted barely 10 minutes, and he (Vijay) returned without meeting anyone besides Nirmala Sitharaman, he said.“You went to the PM and came back silently.
Where is your bravery now, bro?” he asked. On Vijay referring to DMK and TVK as the “only real competitors” and dismissing others as “allu, sillu”, Raja said, “The same people you dismiss, you went to their homes with a shawl, begged for votes. Is that principled politics?”
Raja also questioned the ‘Singapenn’ scheme, demanding to know its budget allocation, number of vehicles procured, and police personnel assigned. “You signed a file and gave it a name. What else did you do?” he said. “Police are under you, transfers are under you. How much time do you need to fix law and order,?” he asked.
Continuing his attack, the MP also questioned Vijay’s silence on the governor’s office using saffron attire on Thiruvalluvar statue, judgment on cow and calf slaughter, and Karnataka CM-elect DK Shivakumar’s statement that the Mekedatu dam project faces no obstacle now that DMK is in opposition. “Your ministers said ‘no comments’ on Katchatheevu. What kind of ministers are they? We are ready to stand by every legitimate decision of this government. But that doesn’t mean we will stay silent on your incompetence,” he added.