CHENNAI: Leader of Opposition and DMK youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin on Monday criticised Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay over the ‘deteriorating law and order situation’ in Tamil Nadu, citing 25 murders, four double murders and 19 sexual offences reported in the state over the past 15 days alone.
Listing a string of incidents, Udhayanidhi pointed to the sexual assault of a minor girl in Villupuram district even as the state was still reeling from another sexual assault case in Sulur in Coimbatore district.
He also flagged the murder of a boy near the Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple, a petrol bomb attack on a young woman’s house in Coimbatore and a gang vandalising vehicles in Perambur, the CM’s own constituency.
“Is this TN or Uttar Pradesh,” Udhayanidhi asked, taking a dig at the TVK government that had promised transformation. Hitting out at the CM’s silence, he questioned the whereabouts of the all-women ‘Singapenn’ rapid action force announced before the elections.
Udhayanidhi also rejected Monday morning’s police review meeting as a face-saving exercise, saying a routine statement would not suffice. He also demanded that CM Vijay personally spell out concrete steps to prevent crimes against women and children.
VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan on Monday demanded that the state government intensify preventive measures to protect women and children.
In a statement, Thirumavalavan said the latest incident came close on the heels of the rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl in Pallapalaiyam near Sulur, Coimbatore.
Noting that the government had already launched initiatives including the Singapenn special force for the safety of women and children, he said such schemes must be backed by stronger preventive action on the ground.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami also urged Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to take immediate steps to restore law and order in Tamil Nadu, alleging a rise in crimes, intimidation by ruling party functionaries and administrative failures across the state.
Palaniswami, in a statement, urged the CM to immediately restore law and order and ensure public safety if he had even the slightest concern for the people of TN who voted for him. Palaniswami mentioned reports of a TVK functionary being arrested for allegedly sexually harassing a Class 10 schoolgirl in Keezhamathur near Madurai.