DMK president M.K. Stalin on Wednesday accused corporate power centres of controlling the TVK-led government in Tamil Nadu, claiming Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay was being used to run the administration at their behest.

Speaking at a felicitation ceremony organised by the Dravidar Kazhagam at VOC Grounds in Coimbatore, Stalin said the Chief Minister was unable to take independent decisions. He set his claim against Vijay’s earlier statement that he alone would be the power centre in the government.

Stalin said the TVK government had turned into a “circus”, with corporate power centres pulling the strings. In his telling, the Chief Minister was little more than a puppet, carrying out decisions made elsewhere.

Astrologers, power cuts and a costly electricity bill

The attack went beyond corporate influence. Stalin alleged that astrologers were dictating decisions in the TVK government, from fixing dates for official events to deciding the Chief Minister’s attire.

He then turned to electricity. Stalin criticised the government over reported power cuts, saying the administration had failed to fix the problem even after several months in office. He claimed the government was now buying power from the open market at nearly twice the price, after cancelling power procurement arrangements made during the previous DMK regime.

That allegation puts a number on public anger that many households already feel at the meter. Stalin did not present any breakdown of costs in his remarks, but his charge is direct: a cancelled contract, a higher price, and continued outages.

Murders, a methamphetamine seizure and a ruling party arrest

On law and order, Stalin alleged that Coimbatore was witnessing a spate of murders, claiming 10 murders had taken place in the city in a month.

He also pointed to the arrest of N. Boopalan, a TVK functionary from Nagapattinam district, in connection with the seizure of 135 kg of methamphetamine. Stalin questioned why the State police had not arrested the accused. He demanded to know whether the Chief Minister would take responsibility for the alleged involvement of a ruling party functionary in drug trafficking.

He also asked whether the party leadership had taken steps to identify others allegedly involved in the network. Those questions remain open in his speech, and no further official response to them was included in the remarks reported.

Extortion claims and women’s complaints

Stalin said TVK functionaries, including district and union-level office-bearers and elected representatives, had been facing allegations of extortion and intimidation. He referred to audio and video clips circulating on social media in which party functionaries were allegedly heard demanding money.

He went further. According to Stalin, women had “received obscene messages” from some party members. These are his allegations, made at a political event, and they were presented as a pattern of misconduct rather than isolated incidents.

He tied the governance problem to the Chief Minister’s style. Stalin said the post was not a 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. job and that running a government was not like acting in a film. In his view, the Chief Minister had a responsibility to answer questions from the public and the media.

DVAC searches and the Tiruchy East by-election

Stalin called the DVAC searches at the premises of former minister K.N. Nehru politically motivated. He said they were aimed at diverting public attention from the TVK government’s shortcomings.

He reiterated his charge that the searches were being carried out to prepare social media reels for the Tiruchy East by-election. That accusation puts the anti-corruption agency’s timing under the microscope, and it is a charge the ruling side will have to answer in public.

Stalin also dismissed pressure tactics aimed at his party. He said attempts to push the DMK would only make it stronger, and he left his supporters with a defiant line.

“The more pressure you exert on us, the higher we will rise. That is the DMK’s DNA,” he said.

A Periyar tribute and a DMK legacy push

The event itself was a tribute. Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani thanked Stalin for establishing the state-of-the-art Periyar Arivulagam. He described it as a significant contribution to promoting learning and rationalist thought at a time when society needed spaces for reflection.

Veeramani recalled that Stalin had established libraries in Chennai and Madurai during his tenure as Chief Minister. He said the new facility would further strengthen that commitment to knowledge and social reform.

The contrast was hard to miss. On one stage, the DMK leader was praised for building libraries and reading rooms. Off that stage, he was attacking the sitting government over power bills, drug arrests, extortion complaints and the state’s policing.

What comes next will be measured by answers. Stalin has put specific questions to the Chief Minister and the State police. Whether the TVK government responds with facts, or leaves the claims hanging, will shape how this fight plays out ahead of the Tiruchy East by-election.