Madurantakam: Half of the crimes taking place in Tamil Nadu involve TVK members. Instead of taking action against those who committed the wrongdoing, they expelled the woman who filed the complaint from the party and are providing police protection to the MLA who has been accused. Is this the rule of pure power? No, this is sorrowful power, said DMK leader Stalin at the Madurantakam campaign meeting.
At the DMK campaign meeting held today (Oct. 3) ahead of the by-election in the Madurantakam Assembly constituency, DMK leader M.K. Stalin spoke in support of the party’s candidate Paranthaman.
Then he said: I request you to vote for our candidate Paranthaman in the Madurantakam constituency under the Rising Sun symbol. Last time, it was a “miss.” This time, it should not be a “miss.”
This election is not a regular election. It is not even an election being held due to unavoidable circumstances. It is an election that should have been avoided. An election imposed on you. Four months ago, you made one person win. To prop up this government, which does not have a majority, they resigned and then came back and, without any shame, are now asking for votes under a different symbol.
And now, the minister from the ruling side says that he has done nothing for five years, while keeping him in office. After saying that, he is asking for votes for himself. Can there be any greater insult to you, the people of Madurantakam, than this? Has it ever happened before in Tamil Nadu that, immediately after the election results and winning, a Member of the Legislative Assembly resigns? Never. This election is being held because of blatant horse-trading.
But if we say this, do you know what Chief Minister Vijay is saying? “They supposedly joined TVK only after resigning from their MLA posts” — what a great discovery. If they had not resigned, the anti-defection law would have kicked in. That is exactly why they gave their resignation letters to the Speaker by citing a false reason. The CM could have said that too, couldn’t he?
The people of Madurantakam must teach a fitting lesson to the Chief Minister who is deceiving the people, and to the ruling party candidate who is deceiving you. Every day I keep seeing it on television. I also see it on social media. News keeps coming in that there is opposition to the TVK candidate, that he is being chased away, and that he is unable to even enter the constituency because of the ruling party candidate.
Do you know how arrogantly the ruling party people speak? They say, “Even if we field a dog on behalf of TVK, people will vote for it.” Just look at this cruelty. What a disgusting mindset. To even hear and see all this in Tamil Nadu is repulsive and filthy. They think of the people with contempt. You are the ones who must put an end to the arrogance of such people. Will you do it? Stay with this same resolve till the end—and teach the ruling party and the Chief Minister a fitting lesson.
The only mistake we made was this: before the election, we did not take TVK seriously at all. We fought against ideological opponents. We ignored this clownish bunch. In addition, the voting rights of several lakh people were taken away in the SIR. It was because of a few such reasons that we lost our chance of victory. But the reality is that the party that formed the government did not get a majority either.
If there had been a wave in favor of TVK, they should have won at least 150 seats. But they did not even get the 118 seats needed to form a government. This government was formed only with the support of the parties that contested and won as part of the DMK alliance. So, no matter how high-pitched the Chief Minister may shout, this is a government that is functioning thanks to the votes the people gave to the DMK. The Chief Minister has to admit that. He too feels that unease. That is why, instead of trusting the parties that supported him, he is trying to buy AIADMK members and field them again, in an attempt to increase TVK’s seat count.
I can say for sure that various horse-trading deals have taken place here. Just a few days ago, even a minister stood on this very stage and shamelessly said, “If the two MLAs who contested under the rising sun symbol had resigned and come over, they could have become ministers.” But what does the Chief Minister say, as if he were some great saint? He says, “There is no horse-trading, no donkey-trading, nothing of the sort.” Let him choose whatever name suits him best.
What we are asking is... the party that has formed a weak government should do as much good as possible and win a place in the hearts of the people. That is what I expected, what everyone expected. They have just come to power, let them govern; we thought we would wait for six months. But they did not even last a month. They are buying MLAs. Law and order has started to laugh in the streets.
Half of the crimes happening in Tamil Nadu involve TVK members. Instead of taking action against those who committed the wrongdoing, they expel the woman who filed the complaint from the party and provide police protection to the MLA accused of the crime. Is this what a pure force government looks like? No, this is a sorrowful force.
Have they been able to find a solution to the power cut problem? A government is running that is not even capable of properly supplying Aavin milk for infants to drink. Taking advantage of the Aavin shortage, private milk companies have raised prices. The cost of living has skyrocketed wildly.
Yesterday (Friday), when the Chief Minister came here for a shooting, there was a shot in one scene of him drinking tea. After drinking that tea, he paid 500 rupees and left in style. But does he know how much people pay for a tea every day? Before he came to power, one tea cost 10 rupees. Now it is 15 rupees. Go ask about the prices at a grocery store, bro, CM sir. The prices of rice, sugar, vegetables—everything has gone up.
The cabinet, which should be fixing all this, is now coming here and setting up camp to shoot reels. They’ve all come here and are sitting around in fear of defeat. After winning even his own constituency, Perambur, Chief Minister Vijay would have gone there only once. But he has come to Madurantakam twice and is going street by street.
Those who are already in power as chief ministers usually do not make a big fuss over by-elections. They hardly even campaign. That is because they are confident that people will vote for them, trusting their governance and their schemes. So why is our chief minister so anxious now? He himself has no confidence in his own government.
For the 2026 general election campaign, he probably wouldn’t have even held ten meetings in total. And even then, he never got down from the vehicle. For someone like that, look at the situation now, will you? In the Madurantakam constituency, Chief Minister Vijay is going on a procession, not sparing even the narrow lanes with no human movement at all. Only now, out of fear of defeat, has he stepped down onto the ground at tea shops and in the fields. I like your fear, CM sir.
Chief Minister Vijay recently spoke a punch dialogue on a political stage, you know what it was? “Life is a circle, da!” Yes, whether it suits anyone else or not, right now it suits him perfectly.
But let me tell you one thing! Remember this well... once the election is over, he won’t even turn back to look at you. If you have any doubt, go ask the people of Perambur; they’ll tell you clearly.
When he came to Madurantakam, he made another remark. “Why shouldn’t we come to power? Why shouldn’t all of us become Chief Minister?” he asked. You have already become Chief Minister—don’t you still believe that? You are not just Chief Minister; as your astrologer says, become Prime Minister, or even the President of the United States. Go ahead and discuss and solve the problems of the world’s nations. But before that, first try to solve the local power cut problem a little, CM sir.
Every day, people are suffering, CM sir. Even while your ministers are speaking, the power goes out—please pay attention to that first, sir.
While holding the Chief Minister’s post, what have you done for the people in these four months? Every day you post a reel as if you are reviewing the schemes created by the DMK. If this is said, you immediately get furious. He asks, “Did you do it with your own money? It’s the people’s money, isn’t it?”
I’m asking... We say Karikalan built the Kallanai dam. We read that Rajaraja Chola built the Big Temple in Thanjavur. We say that Perunthalaivar Kamarajar built dams and schools. Did they all do it with their own money, CM sir? Would you ask them the same question too? Are you insulting them as well? And now you’ve put on a gold ring—was that with your own money?
Some fools even believe that too. To curb the arrogance of these fraudsters, the people of Madurantakam must hand them a crushing defeat as a gift. Only then will they mend their ways. These Reels fanatics need a reality check.
Next, he says something else too... “If you think you can topple the government by underhanded means, that will not happen,” the Chief Minister consoles himself. From now on, I will call the Chief Minister the Cheap Minister. Because he himself has stooped to a low level. Going by underhanded means, stealing MLAs, kidnapping an AMMK member and obtaining a letter of support—these are your ideas. We do not need underhanded means to topple your government. Such a thing has never existed in our history. The people themselves will bring your government to an end through the proper way.
TVK is the one that has come to power through a shortcut. On one side, you have given cabinet positions to the parties that won in the DMK alliance and kept them there. On the other side, you are buying over AIADMK members who won in the BJP alliance. That is the shortcut. More plainly, it is the thieving way. It seems the Chief Minister thinks everyone is like him.
What I would tell the Chief Minister is this: stop with the devious thinking and try to do good for the people in a straightforward way. Thinking that we won’t win anyway, you made all sorts of wild promises in the election manifesto. Have you at least fully fulfilled even a few of those promises, instead of doing them half-heartedly? First, read the reports in the newspapers about the mistakes happening under your rule.
In Ranipet, a woman from that party openly made all the complaints against the TVK district secretary that I cannot say on this stage. More than that, she said that in a public place, a minister powdered a tablet and— I only came to know this by watching it on TV. Please do not misunderstand me—posted it as a reel, and then told stories about setting up a cover-up to handle it. He is still in the cabinet too. You have kept the entire criminal gang together; is this what a pure-power government is?
And not only that, what are you doing now? You’re putting all the former AIADMK ministers caught in corruption cases into your washing machine and whitewashing them—do you call that pure power? Or is pure power rule the cancellation of the Parandur airport project? You’re trying to hand over Chennai airport to private interests, and you even secretly covered up the letter written to the Prime Minister for this purpose—do you call that pure power? They are working out a mafia plan to divert investments to Andhra Pradesh and keep this government under their control.
Chief Minister, you alone keep saying this is democracy. In reality, this is a mysterious rule. Under someone’s control, a corporate mafia is ruling here for someone’s benefit. There is no transparency in anything. Everything is happening behind the scenes.
Except for the BJP and its alliance parties, everyone in India has spoken about removing Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from office. Yesterday, massive protests were held across India, in Mumbai, Delhi, and everywhere else. But has Chief Minister Vijay said a single word about this? The voting rights of 130 million people have been taken away. A huge act of treason has taken place. Election results have been stolen in several states. Can someone who does not even speak up about this be called a political leader? Even the leaders of the parties in his alliance are asking this.
Just wait and see; as time goes on, their mask will be completely torn off. Everyone will come to know who they are in secret alliance with in Delhi. Those who trusted them and went along with them will also be left stranded.
The people must be cautious from now on. You were deceived once. You believed what was promised as change. But what you got was only disappointment.
Keeping all this in mind, you must vote. Tamil Nadu is waiting for your verdict. It is the punishment you give that will decide whether horse-trading will happen in other constituencies or not.
Therefore, use your votes not just for the benefit of your constituency, but for the benefit of the people of Tamil Nadu. Your vote should not go again to those who take money from the ruling party and sell themselves. A big shock treatment must be given to the Chief Minister, who is trying to turn cinematic glamour into political capital, prove a majority through horse-trading, mislead the people, and somehow get by.
Chief Minister Vijay openly said something at the Dharapuram campaign, thinking it was a mind voice. Know what? He complained, “These DMK people have forgotten that they are no longer in power, yet they still speak like the ruling party.” That’s true, brother. That swagger is the DMK man’s inborn trait. When a problem arises, you lock up the party office, switch off all the cell phones, and make the whole party go underground for a month—unlike such cowards, we are not like that.
What did the Chennai High Court say on this very day last year? They said that Vijay, who ran away without even meeting and consoling the families of the 41 people who lost their lives, had no leadership qualities. Did you think the DMK would be cowards like you? Win or lose, we are the ones who stand proudly in the field with our party’s shawl, alongside the people, for the people.
You’re making sarcastic remarks saying Stalin lost in Kolathur just because you campaigned for 5 minutes? I ask you... you sang songs in Karur, so why didn’t you win? You even held a conference in Viluppuram under the name V. Salai, so why didn’t you win there? You went to Kanyakumari too, so what was the situation there? You didn’t even win a single seat. You went to Thiruvarur and spoke lies after lies, so what happened there? The truth is, in most of the places where Vijay campaigned for a long time, TVK suffered a crushing defeat. That is the reality! Madurantakam should also be added to that list.
If people raise issues, answer as the Chief Minister and take responsibility for them. Complaining about DMK, DMK on every platform will not solve people’s problems. People did not vote for you for that either. The more you look down on the people, the more certain it is that you will be destroyed by that very arrogance.
There is only one thing I want to say to the people of Madurantakam. The vote cast for TVK in this by-election is a vote for lawlessness and arrogance. A vote for irregularities. A vote for money power. The people of Madurantakam should not forget this. He said, “Drive away the traitors.”