Vijay to meet TVK MLAs today as government completes 6 months amid Opposition attack

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder and Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay is scheduled to hold a key meeting with party legislators on Wednesday over a host of issues, as his government marks six months in office, people aware of the details said.

The meeting will be held at a luxury hotel in Mahabalipuram in Chengalpattu district, and will be attended by TVK general secretary and minister N Anand, deputy general secretaries and ministers Aadhav Arjuna, CTR Nirmal Kumar and A Rajmohan among others, the people cited above added.

The meeting comes at a time when the TVK faces criticisms from opposition parties, including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), over various issues, including alleged deterioration in law and order, rising prices of essential items and frequent power outages.

Citing news reports that over 10 crimes took place in the state on November 8 alone, the DMK alleged Tamil Nadu was facing the worst period under the TVK rule. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami echoed similar sentiments, alleging a 'sickle' culture was prevailing in the state. Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram, whose party is an ally of TVK, alleged murders, particularly planned revenge killings, were taking place and termed the cases 'alarming' and 'worrisome'.

The party also came under fire recently after deputy speaker M Ravishankar (Thuraiyur) allegedly hit a man who wanted to submit a petition seeking improvement of basic amenities in his locality in Tiruchirappalli. A political row erupted in the state after a purported video of the incident went viral. The victim alleged he was threatened and forced to record a video denying the assault. There was no immediate comment from Ravishankar at the time of filing this report.

Besides, TVK MLA (Kallakurichi) C Arul Vignesh was recently accused of sending an inappropriate message to district collector Padmaja. He has denied the allegation.

TVK deputy general secretary and minister for school education A Rajmohan earlier said that all the charges against the party leaders would be investigated and action would be taken.

"Under the chief minister's rule, if such an allegation has been levelled against any party member, a detailed investigation will be taken up. Action will be taken against anyone without any bias," he told reporters on Tuesday.

The people cited above said the TVK is planning to conduct an internal probe against Ravishankar and Vignesh.