DMK joins issue TVK govt over investments secured, mocks Vijay’s London visit

Chennai, Tamil Nadu's main opposition DMK on Monday took on the TVK regime over its claim of attracting investments worth more than ₹1 lakh crore within about 100 days of assuming power.

The Dravidian party mocked Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's ongoing London visit to attract investments to the state, alleging that he had travelled there to watch a car race.

The DMK's Tamil mouthpiece Murasoli claimed that reports showed new investment proposals in Tamil Nadu had declined by about 74.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2026.

Reports had emerged that Tamil Nadu's national ranking in attracting investments had slipped from sixth to 17th, the daily alleged in an editorial published on September 14, 2026.

It was noted in such reports that following the swearing-in of new chief ministers in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Keralam and West Bengal, Tamil Nadu suffered a setback in industrial investments in the first quarter, while proposed investments in the other three states increased significantly.

"All industrial companies are marching towards Andhra Pradesh," the DMK alleged.

Against this backdrop, the TVK government, "without any visionary thought", cancelled the Parandur greenfield airport project, which had turned out to be a massive advantage for the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, Murasoli claimed.

It further said social media was mocking that "Vijay is also acting as the CM of Karnataka, Andhra and Telangana".

The DMK's official organ further alleged that "various lies are being fabricated to conceal this", with the recent investors' meet being one such instance.

The Industries Department has stated that at the 'Vetri Tamil Nadu Investors Meet' held in Chennai in the presence of Vijay on August 13, as many as 97 MoUs were signed, involving investments worth ₹67,452 crore and promising to create 1,06,998 jobs.

Pointing out that the Vijay-led regime had claimed that industrial investments worth more than ₹1 lakh crore had been attracted in the 100 days since it assumed office, assuring employment opportunities for 1,21,788 people, the DMK alleged: "None of these is true."

The DMK alleged that no media outlet was permitted to cover the investors' meet.

"If investments worth ₹67,000 crore had been attracted, all media outlets could have been flown in from Delhi to showcase it, as there could be no greater source of pride for Tamil Nadu," it said.

"But what did Vijay do? He attracted investments as if he were inside a caravan, keeping it all behind closed doors. He attracted and piled them up," the DMK said sarcastically.

As soon as Vijay became chief minister, the first thing to collapse was Tamil Nadu's industrial growth, it alleged.

"It was industrialists who were the first to realise that if they invested now, neither their companies nor Tamil Nadu would grow, as Vijay knew nothing, had no visionary thinking and operated solely within the web of a few brokers," the DMK daily alleged.

More importantly, Industries Minister S Keerthana, appointed by Vijay, "cannot bring in any investments, and no one is going to invest by trusting her", it alleged.

"Even existing companies will only look to escape," the daily said.

In such an environment, the CM has undertaken a foreign trip "reportedly to attract investments", the DMK alleged.

"Believing that the country and its people will believe whatever an actor says, Vijay has left the country after pulling the wool over the eyes of crores of people," it said.

If investments are to be attracted from abroad, the chief minister's trip is usually planned only after multiple rounds of discussions involving ministers and officials, the DMK said.

"But here, the chief minister suddenly took off on his own," it alleged.

"It is unclear if someone had suggested that investments would pour in the moment Vijay stood at the London airport. The CM has gone to London not to attract investments but to witness a car race. Why should a lie be peddled that it was to get investments?" the DMK daily alleged.

Vijay assumed office as the CM of Tamil Nadu on May 10, 2026.

In line with the TVK's pre-poll stand against the Parandur project, which it had opposed on the grounds that it would allegedly affect farmers, fertile agricultural land and water bodies, the project was recently dropped.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.