CHENNAI: Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin on Monday alleged that three associates of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay — Vishnu Reddy, Anil Reddy and Sujay Reddy — were exercising influence over the state’s Mineral Resources department, and said he would release the evidence in phases.
Udhayanidhi made these remarks outside the Assembly while speaking to reporters after DMK MLAs staged a walkout, alleging that the Speaker denied them opportunity to respond to the chief minister’s speech.
During the press meet, Udhayanidhi said, “I am making an open allegation against this government. The chief minister’s friends and advisers include Vishnu Reddy. Vishnu Reddy along with his brother-in-law Sujay Reddy and business partner Anil Reddy is now in full control of mining activities, including government-run mining operations. I will release the evidence for each of these allegations one by one.”
Referring to the CM’s response in the Assembly, Udhayanidhi said that instead of addressing the issues raised, the discussion was taken back to the 1970s, with references to the Sarkaria Commission and MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act).
“Yesterday, there was a murder in broad daylight in Chennai. When questions were raised about it, the response went back to the 1970s,” he said, questioning the relevance of bringing up MISA and the Sarkaria Commission while responding to the present-day issues.
Udhayanidhi also alleged that the CM’s response contained accusations rather than evidence and said the DMK had repeatedly secured the people’s mandate to form governments in the state. On the charges concerning the Enforcement Directorate (ED), he said references were being made only to allegations levelled by the agency and maintained that such allegations could not be treated as established facts.
Also, a member of the IUML had spoken about money being distributed to secure support for forming the government, he alleged, adding that the DMK is prepared to face any attempts to target its leaders.
Speaking about Vijay’s reply to the debate on the demand for grants for his department, Udhayanidhi said he had raised 15 questions during Thursday’s debate on the police department and expected the CM to give direct answers, instead of blaming the previous DMK government.
“I asked what the government had done in the last three months and what it planned to do next. But the CM did not answer even one of my questions. Instead, he made several allegations against us,” he said.
He alleged that the CM referred to statements made by DMK members at party meetings and brought them up in the Assembly without allowing the Opposition to respond.
He accused the government of using investigating agencies to intimidate opposition leaders, and said the DMK is ready to face any cases legally.
Udhayanidhi also criticised the Speaker (J C D Prabhakar) for his “one-sided” conduct.
