‘Government says it is against drugs, but murders are happening’: Stalin targets Vijay

Tamil Nadu Assembly Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin on Monday criticised the state government over the law and order situation and alleged that the drug menace was behind several recent incidents of violence in the state, as Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay completed 100 days in office.

Speaking in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Stalin raised the killing of 19-year-old Amudhan in Coimbatore and said that the incident should not be treated as a gang clash.

"In Coimbatore, 19-year-old Amudhan was brutally killed. It's not a gang war, it's a murder. He belongs to the SC community," Stalin said.

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He alleged that Amudhan was killed after providing information about drug-related activities and said that his parents had also raised the same allegation.

"The drugs should have been seized. The main reason behind Amudhan's death is due to drugs. Their parents spoke to me; they said Amudhan was killed because he gave a tip-off about the drug menace," he said.

Stalin further said that, acting on the orders of his party leader, the Kallakurichi district party unit had organised a demonstration demanding justice in the case.

"Based on the orders of our leader, we staged a huge demonstration in Kallakurichi. We cannot overlook this as just another murder; we need to bring those at fault to justice," he said.

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He also referred to the killing of a Class XII student, Dhanush, in Tiruvottiyur, Chennai, alleging that the student had questioned a drug-peddling gang.

"Similar to Coimbatore, in Chennai, Dhanush, a Class XII student, was brutally hacked because he gave a tip-off. The government said they are against drugs, but murders are happening," Stalin said.

He alleged that similar incidents had been reported in other parts of Tamil Nadu.

"I am bringing all these things to the government's attention. All these incidents have happened in the past one week. Not just murders, several sexual assault incidents have taken place in the state," he said.

Stalin urged the government to introduce counselling classes in schools and take stringent action against drugs.