Two More Political Workers from Tamil Nadu Killed in DMK vs Opposition Conflict

Chennai:

Two political activists from Tamil Nadu have been assassinated in less than 24 hours — one of them in adjacent Puducherry. Selvakumar, a BJP supporter from Sivaganga district was discovered slain last night. In adjacent Puducherry, Padmanabhan, AIADMK’s Ward Secretary from Cuddalore district, was murdered.

Selvakumar was leader of the party’s district cooperative wing, and a suspect in a homicide case. Investigators have indicated the killing stemmed from personal animosity.

Padmanabhan was initially struck by a car while he was returning on a motorcycle. Then he was brutally murdered. Investigators from Puducherry have hurried to Cuddalore. Police sources suspect this to be a retaliatory killing.

This is the third assassination of a political official this month in Tamil Nadu. A few weeks earlier, Armstrong, the state leader of Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party, was brutally killed by a six-member gang. Investigators labeled it a revenge killing.

Armstrong was suspected of orchestrating the killing of an alleged thug, Arcot Suresh, last year. A week later, an NTK official was brutally murdered in Madurai. The police had attributed it to a land dispute within the family.

In Kanniyakumari, a Congress councilor’s husband, Jackson, a chauffeur, was murdered this morning. The man was brutally killed. The police are searching for a six-member gang.

The assassinations have caused significant embarrassment for the ruling DMK, which recently reassigned the Chennai Police chief and the Home Secretary. The new police chief is A Arun and Dheeraj Kumar is the new Home Secretary, but one of the suspects in the Armstrong murder case was shot dead after the change.

The Opposition AIADMK is criticizing the ruling DMK. Its spokesperson Kovai Sathyan said the assassinations “clearly demonstrate the lawlessness in the state and the ineffectiveness of Chief Minister M K Stalin”.

“MK Stalin should consider if he has the ethical right to continue as Chief Minister,” state BJP leader K Annamalai posted on X, previously known as Twitter.

The ruling DMK states the law and order situation in the state is much better than in BJP-governed states. Referring to data from the National Crime Records Bureau, it has accused the Opposition of engaging in politics.

DMK spokesperson Dr Hafeezullah said, “A crime-free situation is idealistic globally. What is crucial is how the government reacts and prevents. Chief Minister M K Stalin has handled these situations resolutely and professionally”.

BJP supporters, he said, are implicated in numerous criminal cases “including murder and narcotics cases and (party leader) Annamalai should reflect on whether he should continue as state BJP president,” he stated.

Even BJP’s Tamilisai Soundarajan has stated the party accepted criminals without any scrutiny, which “did not occur” when she led the party.