Coimbatore, Sept 29:
DMK deputy general secretary and MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister and TVK president C Joseph Vijay while campaigning for DMK candidate Suganya in the Dharapuram by-election.
Kanimozhi asked Vijay to change what she described as his “boring script” of repeatedly attacking the DMK during his election speeches. She said that if he could not change the script, he should at least change the person writing it.
Her remarks were in response to Vijay’s repeated references to the DMK as an “evil force” and his description of his own party as a “pure force”. Kanimozhi said people had become tired of hearing the same dialogue.
She also criticised Vijay for repeatedly referring to the DMK during his campaign speeches. Referring to his recent speech at Madurantakam, she claimed that he mentioned the DMK around 40 times in a 30-minute speech and suggested that he would continue to seek votes by referring to the DMK.
Kanimozhi also took a sarcastic swipe at Vijay’s reference to DMK president MK Stalin as his “sweet uncle”. She said that since Vijay called Stalin his “sweet uncle”, she would refer to Vijay as her “dear younger brother”.
Turning to law and order, Kanimozhi alleged that the State had witnessed more than 200 murders, over 300 sexual offences and eight custodial deaths under the TVK government. These figures were cited by her during the campaign and represent her criticism of the government’s record.
She also alleged that the government had failed to take action against a Cabinet Minister despite a complaint from a woman lawyer belonging to the same party. According to Kanimozhi, the lawyer had alleged that she was asked to pay money in connection with an appointment as a government prosecutor, but action was instead taken against her.
Kanimozhi further questioned the government’s handling of an alleged sexual assault involving a child on a school campus in Chennai. She accused the government of attempting to cover up the incident and linked the issue to Vijay’s campaign appeals asking children to persuade their parents to vote for him.
The DMK leader also alleged that party leaders were being subjected to repeated searches as part of political vendetta, claiming that searches were being conducted at the residences of DMK leaders every week.
She criticised the TVK government over what she described as unfulfilled election promises, raising issues including power cuts, price rise, farmers’ water problems, unemployment assistance and financial support for women. On power cuts, she referred to an earlier remark by Stalin and questioned the government’s explanation for the interruptions.
Kanimozhi also took a dig at Vijay’s foreign travel. Referring to his stated purpose of visiting London to attract industrial investments, she questioned the need for the trip and made a reference to a company in Noida.
She further criticised the reported expenditure on a new office, referring to an alleged expenditure of Rs 6 crore to Rs 7 crore and making a sarcastic reference to “kara boondi”.
On the Dharapuram by-election, Kanimozhi accused the TVK of trying to increase its strength in the Assembly after Sathyabama, who had won as an AIADMK candidate, joined the ruling party. She said TVK’s description of Sathyabama had changed after her move from the AIADMK to the TVK.
Kanimozhi also rejected Vijay’s allegation that the DMK was aligned with the BJP in Tamil Nadu, citing the DMK’s opposition to several Union government decisions.