CHENNAI: Former chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin on Wednesday hit out at Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay over a series of murders and attacks reported across Tamil Nadu, alleging that the state’s law and order situation had deteriorated and people were living in fear.In a post on X, Stalin cited several incidents reported from Chennai, Tiruttani, Salem, Dindigul and Madurai, and questioned the effectiveness of police surveillance and action.Among the incidents he referred to were the murder of a 19-year-old youth in Mylapore, the killing of a man in Tiruttani who had allegedly approached police over harassment of his 17-year-old daughter, and the murder of an elderly woman at her home in Salem.Stalin alleged that the Tiruttani victim was killed despite having approached police with a complaint. In Salem, he said, an elderly woman, Janabai, was allegedly strangled at home in broad daylight and robbed of her jewellery.He also cited the hacking of Veerabathiran in Dindigul district while he was returning with his wife after signing for bail at Sanarpatti police station. Stalin questioned whether the incident pointed to inadequate surveillance of known criminals.Stalin further referred to the murder of a youth near Samayanallur in Madurai, the hacking of Shyam Sundarraj near a TASMAC outlet in Sholavandan and an alleged attempt to attack students at Ennore railway station.Listing incidents from different parts of the state, Stalin alleged that people were feeling unsafe both inside and outside their homes. He questioned whether police patrols were being carried out effectively and whether criminals were being properly monitored.He also took aim at the government’s ‘Singapenn’ task force for women’s safety, asking whether it would show the same enthusiasm for women’s safety as it did for posting Instagram reels.Stalin questioned how citizens who approach police stations with complaints could allegedly end up becoming victims of violence, and accused the government of failing to address the deteriorating law and order situation.Turning his attack on Vijay, Stalin said the chief minister, who also holds the police portfolio, must recognise the seriousness of the situation.“The Chief Minister, who holds the portfolio for the police department, must realise the severity of the situation. The time for making excuses has passed,” Stalin said in his post.Stalin ended with a reference to Vijay’s frequent use of the word “shooting” during his political campaign, asking him to move from what he described as “Take-Action” #ShootingMode to actually taking action.“Please take action, CM sir,” Stalin said.The remarks come days after Stalin had targeted Vijay over his references to “shooting” during the bypoll campaign, accusing the chief minister of continuing to remain in an “acting mode” even after entering politics.
