Chief Minister Joseph Vijay Summons TVK MLAs Over Misconduct

Chief Minister Joseph Vijay and Minister N. Anand summoned all Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) legislators to an emergency consultative meeting in Chennai on November 11. The gathering at the party headquarters in Panaiyur aims to address misconduct allegations against party members that leadership fears could damage the six-month-old government's public standing.

Central to the crisis are allegations against Deputy Speaker Ravi Shankar, who is accused of verbally abusing and physically assaulting a resident, Karthik Kumar, after Kumar raised complaints about basic amenities on Diwali evening. Kumar was treated at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital in Tiruchirappalli. While Kumar initially shared a video of the attack, he later retracted the statement, leading to allegations that he was coerced into denying the assault.

Additionally, Kallakurichi MLA Arul Vignesh faces accusations of sending obscene messages to a female district collector and visiting her office while intoxicated. Vignesh has denied these claims. In response, opposition parties including the DMK, AIADMK, and AMMK have demanded accountability. DMK President M. K. Stalin criticized the state's law and order situation, while DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan characterized TVK representatives as acting like kings rather than democratic representatives.