All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday questioned Chief Minister MK Stalin's government in Tamil Nadu over the law and order situation in the state and claimed that a country-made bomb was hurled at a police vehicle recently. He claimed that the incident happened near the Perambalur toll plaza on the Trichy-Chennai highway.
The Tamil Nadu government, however, is yet to react to the incident and Palaniswami's allegations.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the former chief minister called Stalin a 'puppet' and said he keeps 'patting his own back and boasting away' but such incidents are regularly taking place in the state. The police had caught a 'rowdy' known as Vellai Kali from Madurai and were taking him for interrogation when the attack happened, he said.
As many as four police personnel have been injured in the incident, Palaniswami, who is the Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, said. The wounded personnel have been taken to a hospital, where they are getting treated for their injuries, he said.
"It seems that those engaging in criminal acts have absolutely no fear of either the police or this government. In a situation where law and order is being made a laughingstock, one wonders who Chief Minister Stalin—who's been spinning the wheel of governance somehow or the other—will try to blame for this incident," Palaniswami Xed, while condemning Stalin "for not allowing the police to act independently".
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also took this opportunity to attack Stalin, with party's state unit chief Nainar Nagenthran saying that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has 'looted' the safety of police in the state. In an X post, he said this incident has shown that the law and order has plummeted to the "depths of hell" under the DMK.
"People will no longer tolerate a regime that postures only on social media while looting public safety!" he said. "The day is not far off when the DMK regime, which has turned Tamil Nadu into a hotbed of violence and a den of rowdies through its incompetent administration, will be obliterated by the people of Tamil Nadu!"
Meanwhile, the political atmosphere in Tamil Nadu has intensified, as assembly elections will be held here in March or April this year, along with those in West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and the union territory (UT) of Puducherry.
The AIADMK is looking to return to power in the state after it lost the 2021 assembly polls. The party has also returned to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also launched NDA's poll campaign, with a mega rally in Madhuranthakam. The rally was attended by all top NDA partners, including TTV Dhinakaran's AMMK and Anbumani Ramadoss' PMK.
