Public Works Minister Aadhav Arjuna has criticized DMK leader M.K. Stalin for expressing frustration over the opening of Periyar Arivulagam.
DMK leader M.K. Stalin, who had said that Periyar Arivulagam, inaugurated today (Oct. 16) in Coimbatore by Chief Minister Vijay, was built during the DMK regime, posted, “What does it matter who opened it! Is there any pride in merely inaugurating it? The real pride lies in creating something with planning, doesn’t it! In Tamil Nadu, that pride belongs only to the creative force, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam”
In this situation, Minister Aadhav Arjuna has posted on his X page in response to M.K. Stalin.
In that post, “Periyar’s intellectual world and DMK leader M.K. Stalin’s jealous complaints.... Plans are born out of people’s needs.
A plan, or the measures taken to implement it, is not the thought or labor of a single individual. Especially in the case of government administration, to address the needs of the people, a government in power at the time introduces schemes using the people’s tax money and puts them into practice.
Even if there is a change of government in between, what fault can there be if the next government continues to implement that project and brings it into practice? Only if the newly elected government stops a project or construction merely because it was brought in by the previous government can it be criticized.
If a government, considering only the welfare of the people, continues projects introduced by the previous government without any malice, who can fault it? What wrongdoing can be found in that? What moral right does anyone have to do so?
During the 2016-2021 period, many projects that were brought in during the AIADMK-led administration and were nearly completed were inaugurated by M.K. Stalin, who later became the Chief Minister of the DMK-led government; some projects were also inaugurated by Udhayanidhi, who was then the Deputy Chief Minister. Other DMK ministers have also inaugurated projects.
As if they had conceived and implemented it themselves, they also spent crores of government money — public money — wastefully on publicity. There are not just one... not just two... but countless projects that can be cited as examples. In particular, the Athikadavu–Avinashi drinking water project, which had long been a dream of the people of the Kongu region, was laid with a foundation stone in 2019 during the previous AIADMK regime.
80 percent of the work was completed. When the change of government took place, 20 percent of the work remained unfinished due to the coronavirus pandemic. The work that had been completed was inaugurated by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in 2024. For that, he spent crores and carried out publicity.
Likewise, government medical colleges established in 11 cities—Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar, Dindigul, Namakkal, Tiruppur, Nilgiris, Tiruvallur, Krishnagiri, Nagapattinam, Ariyalur, and Kallakurichi—had their foundation stones laid and work begun in 2020 during the previous AIADMK regime.
With 90 percent of the work completed, in 2022, under the DMK government, then Chief Minister Thiru M.K. Stalin inaugurated all 11 medical colleges via video conference. At that time, M.K. Stalin was promoting himself with the slogan, "Tamil Nadu excels in education."
The work for modern infrastructure facilities and the JICA (Japan International Corporation Agency) multipurpose special block building at Coimbatore Medical College, as well as the foundation-laying ceremony for the new academic block, hostels, and library buildings worth Rs. 80 crore to increase the college’s MBBS seats from 150 to 250, had already been initiated during the previous AIADMK regime itself.
After completing the remaining work on them, then Chief Minister M. K. Stalin inaugurated it in March 2024 and had been presenting it as an achievement of his government. The same story applies to the Trichy road flyover, the Ukkadam - Aathupalam flyover, and the Koundampalayam flyovers, all of which were planned and work on which was started during the AIADMK regime.
All the inauguration ceremonies for them were conducted by M. K. Stalin during the DMK regime. Likewise, the foundation stone for the Ooty Government Medical College Hospital and the special treatment wards for tribal people was laid during the AIADMK regime itself.
That was what the then Chief Minister M.K. Stalin hurriedly inaugurated in January 2022. In addition, on 6 April 2025, Mr. M.K. Stalin inaugurated the new 700-bed multi-specialty hospital complex with state-of-the-art facilities, including the special ward for tribal people that was started during the AIADMK regime.
It has always been customary for one government to continue the work started by another and inaugurate it. That is only right as well. The reason is that schemes and their benefits are meant “for the welfare of the people...” alone. On that basis, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government, which has emerged as the new hope of the people of Tamil Nadu, is continuing as they are the schemes introduced by previous governments that are for public welfare; it is improving and implementing schemes that have shortcomings; it is continuing to implement schemes that were left unfinished midway.
Programs such as the Amma Canteen introduced during the AIADMK regime and the breakfast scheme introduced during the DMK regime are also being implemented by the TVK government led by the Honorable Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, on the principle that "the welfare of the people is paramount." For the people... these are schemes launched with the people’s tax money. On that basis, the Honorable Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay has also inaugurated the 'Periyar Arivulagam' library established in Gandhipuram, Coimbatore.
Not only for the people of Coimbatore... but for the people of all Tamil Nadu, for students, researchers, and scholars, the 'Periyar Knowledge Center' will be beneficial for years to come. With the goodwill that everyone, including the people of Coimbatore, should make use of it and benefit from it, without giving room to narrow-mindedness and without any fanfare, the 'Periyar Knowledge Center' has been inaugurated today.
There is no need for Chief Minister Joseph Vijay to seek praise or glory by boasting... or by putting himself forward. His fame and stature are already firmly established across the world, in every country where Tamils live!
But former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, as if he lacked even a basic understanding of how governments elected by the people function in a democratic country, is thinking for himself about the schemes being implemented by the government led by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and...
As if he himself had designed, built, and implemented someone, he is expressing his helplessness out of spite by issuing statements like "one statement in the morning... another statement in the evening"; he is writhing in jealousy.
If people had realized that you yourself brought in so many schemes, they would have re-elected you... It was because they were fed up with the corruption you committed in implementing those schemes, and with the empty election-time announcements made for mere publicity, that the people of Kolathur made you lose.
The people of Tamil Nadu defeated and sent home most of your party’s candidates. Even after that, without realizing the truth, you still boast today, saying, "My scheme... my scheme..." People will never trust you again, now or at any time in the future, even as you continue to seethe with envy on social media.
The meaning of Valluvvar’s couplet “அழுக்காறு உடையார்க்கு அதுசாலும் ஒன்னார் வழுக்காயும் கேடீன் பது” is,
“To destroy a person consumed by envy, no other enmity is needed. Their own envy will destroy them.”
Likewise, when will you realize that your own envy will destroy you, as you continue to seethe with jealousy now?
He has posted that “the rule led by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, by devising schemes for the people and carrying out activities for the welfare of the people, will remain forever in the hearts of the people of Tamil Nadu; it will continue to march forward with victory in the political arena of Tamil Nadu!”
Public Works Minister Adhav Arjuna has criticized DMK leader M.K. Stalin, stating that his remarks at the inauguration of the 'Periyar Arivulagam' reflect a sense of frustration.