RS Bharathi challenges Vijay to face-to-face debate on Sarkaria Commission

CHENNAI:

DMK organising secretary R.S. Bharathi on Monday challenged Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to a face-to-face debate on the Sarkaria Commission, accusing him of relying on a scripted Assembly speech without understanding the history of the commission.

Speaking to reporters at Anna Arivalayam in Teynampet, Bharathi said Vijay had failed to properly respond to questions raised by Opposition leaders Udhayanidhi Stalin and Edappadi K. Palaniswami during the ongoing Assembly session.

“Is the Chief Minister speaking from a script prepared by someone else? He should ask the person who wrote it and understand the facts clearly,” Bharathi said, referring to Vijay’s remarks on the Sarkaria Commission.

Bharathi dismissed the Chief Minister’s references to the commission as an attempt to “beat a dead snake” and challenged him to discuss the allegations and the findings of the commission if he had the courage to do so.

“If the allegations relating to the Sarkaria Commission were true, everyone concerned should have been arrested. If we had committed corruption, we should have been sent to jail,” he said.

He alleged that Vijay was using the Assembly platform to satisfy his film audience rather than provide answers on issues raised by the Opposition.

Bharathi also criticised the government over recent incidents, including a minister’s car accident in which two people were killed and the murder of a party functionary. He alleged that the Chief Minister should have addressed these issues in the Assembly instead of focusing on historical allegations.