CM Vijay vs Udhayanidhi in assembly: DMK leader rejects corruption charges, says ‘allegations must be proven’

Tamil Nadu Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin hit back at Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay over corruption allegations levelled against the DMK in the Assembly, asserting that allegations must be backed by proof and accusing the Chief Minister of diverting from questions on law and order.

Speaking to reporters after the Assembly proceedings, Udhayanidhi said the Chief Minister had made several allegations against the DMK without providing evidence and claimed that the Opposition was denied an opportunity to respond.

“The Chief Minister has spoken in his reply. For the first 11 minutes, he spoke about the police department, and we listened quietly. After that, he levelled baseless allegations against us without any proof,” Udhayanidhi said.

“We asked the Speaker to give us an opportunity. The Chief Minister made many false allegations, but we were not given an opportunity to respond to any of those allegations. I don’t know what pressure came. We were not given a chance,” he added.

What Vijay said?

Vijay on Monday trained his guns on main opposition DMK in the Assembly by alleging serious, organised corruption and collection of “party fund” during its regime.

Citing Enforcement Directorate documents, the chief minister listed alleged corruption during the previous DMK regime in the municipal administration department and in the state-run liquor behemoth TASMAC.

Vijay alleged former Chief Minister M K Stalin and his deputy Udhayanidhi were cited by the Central agency as among “beneficiaries” in respect of collection of alleged “party funds.”

Former Excise Minister V Senthil Balaji and his brother Ashok were also cited by the CM in respect of alleged corruption in TASMAC.

“Dishonest intention, what a great achievement that is DMK,” the CM asserted again, referring to the union government agency’s papers.

The allegations led to a major showdown and the main opposition strongly opposed the chief minister’s statement and a ruckus ensued.

What was Udhayanidhi’s response?

Udhayanidhi said the DMK listened to the Chief Minister’s entire speech before staging a walkout. “The Chief Minister did not answer any of the questions we asked regarding law and order. He only used diversion tactics,” he said.

Taking exception to Vijay’s references to the Sarkaria Commission and MISA, Udhayanidhi questioned the Chief Minister’s knowledge of the issues.

“He went back to 1970. He is talking about the Sarkaria Commission and MISA. What does he know about the Sarkaria Commission?” Udhayanidhi said.

He also questioned the government’s right to target DMK leaders over pending cases.

“What the ED said are only allegations. After the Sarkaria Commission’s report, DMK came to power three times. They are making a series of allegations,” he said.

“There is an Income Tax case against the Chief Minister himself. There is an Enforcement Directorate case against the PWD Minister. There are cases against all the ministers of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. What qualification do they have to question us?” he added.

The Opposition leader further referred to recent searches linked to DMK leader K N Nehru, alleging that authorities concluded within hours that there was nothing incriminating.

Vijay also cited the Sarkaria Commission report while alleging that former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had abused his official position.

On law and order, the Chief Minister said vacancies in the Police Department would be filled and that the department would be digitalised. He also said the police would function freely without interference.

Vijay also appealed against defamatory remarks against women amid a political row over alleged remarks made by Udhayanidhi concerning actor Trisha. The DMK has maintained that his remarks were edited and misrepresented.

“Whatever the Chief Minister said are only allegations, there is no proof. He only made allegations, there is no proof. An allegation must be proven,” he said.