Days after he announced the exit of his party from a nine-year-old alliance with the DMK, MDMK chief Vaiko on Tuesday hit out at former Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, alleging his tenure was marked by corruption and commission.
Vaiko, who announced his exit from the DMK-led alliance on June 27 and extended support to the Vijay-led government, reiterated his firm commitment to support TVK.
"The five years of the previous DMK rule were marked by widespread corruption and commissions," the MDMK general secretary told reporters at Thiruporur about 47 km from here.
A reporter questioned his silence for five years when he was part of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, and sought to know how a veteran political leader like him could support the newly formed TVK government.
Vaiko justified his stance by saying he preferred to maintain silence respecting alliance dharma.
"How can I criticise while being in the alliance," he asked.
When the reporter raised certain personal allegations made against him in the past, Vaiko got infuriated and flayed the reporter's line of questioning and asked the media to focus on state issues.
Soon an altercation ensued between the two and Vaiko aggressively questioned the journalist's integrity, labelling his publication as "yellow journal".
He became furious when the reporter persisted and asked him to leave the venue.
The press meet ended abruptly when the MDMK party workers confronted the scribe.
(With inputs from PTI)