DMK’s TKS Elangovan slammed ‘Chief Minister’ Vijay, calling him a ‘slave of the BJP’. Elangovan alleged Vijay is afraid of the BJP due to its leverage over him in the Karur stampede case and questioned his shifting political allegiances.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) spokesperson TKS Elangovan on Monday accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay of being aligned with the BJP, alleging that he was not running his party independently and was afraid of the party over the Karur stampede matter.
Speaking to ANI, Elangovan questioned Vijay’s political stance and referred to his response to the CJP agitation and his participation in a protest alongside Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. “…Vijay is a slave of the BJP. He is not conducting his party on his own… He was never against the BJP. Even during the agitation by the CJP here, he had arrested those people. But the next day he is going with Rahul Gandhi and taking part in an agitation. He is sending a representative. He is not going. He will not go,” Elangovan said.
Vijay ‘afraid of BJP’ over Karur stampede
Alleging that Vijay was avoiding direct participation in the protest due to pressure from the BJP, Elangovan said, “He is afraid of the BJP because the BJP has their hand on him in the Karur matter.” On September 27 last year, during the public outreach programme of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam leader Vijay in Karur, a crowd stampede occurred, resulting in the deaths of 41 people. The case is being investigated by the CBI as per the Supreme Court’s directions.
DMK spokesperson questions Congress’s protest
Earlier, Elangovan lashed out at the Congress party over its agitation in the state, asking “what kind of show is this?” following the detention of Congress cadres by police during a protest. Questioning the motive and necessity of the Congress’s demonstration against its own ruling alliance partner in Tamil Nadu, the senior DMK leader expressed strong displeasure over the public standoff, emphasising that alliance etiquette should have been maintained instead of creating street spectacles.
“In Delhi, Rahul Gandhi was fighting… Here, the Vijay government is arresting cadres who were fighting for the cause of Congress. Here, Rahul Gandhi and Vijay are speaking as friends. What kind of show this is, I don’t know,” Elangovan said.
Questioning why the DMK should support or march alongside the party under such circumstances, he added, “Funny people they are. Why should we join them? They say immediately after elections, for the sake of two ministerial berths, that they will join the TVK alliance and even in the next Parliament elections be with the TVK alliance. What kind of a statement is that?”
The DMK leader noted that it was DMK Parliamentarians who had to step in on the ground. “Our MPs went there and agitated. A. Raja and Thamizhachi Thangapandian organised an agitation protest; only then were these people released,” he pointed out.
On October 15, Vijay joined the Congress-led INDIA bloc’s protest in Chennai against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. (ANI)
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