ANI
04 Jun 2026

Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) [India], June 4 (ANI): Former Minister and Coimbatore South MLA Senthil Balaji on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Tamil Nadu government, alleging deterioration in law and order, mishandling of the power sector and a lack of transparency in governance.

Addressing reporters after inaugurating the Coimbatore South Assembly Constituency office, the minister in the former DMK regime said that despite being in the Opposition, the DMK would continue to receive petitions from the public and strive to resolve their grievances. He noted that significant funds had been allocated to Coimbatore during the DMK government's tenure.

Responding to questions regarding Electricity Minister Nirmal Kumar's statement that a hard disk had gone missing, Senthil Balaji raised questions on the state of law and order in Tamil Nadu. 'If someone has the courage to threaten a minister and steal a hard disk, people can judge for themselves how law and order are functioning. If a minister is not safe, how can ordinary citizens feel secure?' he asked.

Balaji said that power outages have become a widespread problem across Tamil Nadu and questioned the government's response, asking why proper review meetings had not been conducted and why the administration had failed to resolve the recurring power supply disruptions.

Balaji further claimed that the Electricity Minister was meeting only senior officials and not interacting with field-level employees, asserted that uninterrupted power supply was maintained during the DMK regime and pointed out that electricity consumer helpline services had already been introduced under the previous government.

Criticising the administration's handling of the power sector, he alleged that it was being run inefficiently and said the DMK government had taken several measures to strengthen and protect the Electricity Board. Referring to the missing hard disk issue, Senthil Balaji questioned why departmental action had not been initiated and said the government's priority should be fixing power outages rather than speaking about restructuring the department.

The DMK MLA, further dismissed allegations that officials sympathetic to the DMK were responsible for power cuts, stating that governments may change, but officials remain the same, saying that if there were a few 'black sheep' within the department, they could be identified through other officials and action could be taken against those responsible 'Why create unnecessary panic?'

On election promises, Balaji said governments could seek time to implement welfare commitments, but argued that seeking time to restore law and order was unjustifiable. Referring to the recent tragic incident in Sulur in which a minor girl was raped and murdered, Senthil Balaji questioned whether such incidents were acceptable in a civilised society.

Claiming that the new government had already begun losing public confidence, Balaji said that political parties and leaders who had once vowed to eliminate the DMK had themselves faded away. Describing the DMK as a 'large banyan tree,' the party remained firmly rooted among the people. Senthil Balaji also criticised Chief Minister Vijay, stating that leaders traditionally interact with the media after meeting the Prime Minister, but Vijay had neither addressed reporters in Delhi nor held a press interaction after such meetings.

The government lacked transparency and remarked that the election campaign 'script' appeared unchanged even after assuming office.

Balaji claimed that if Assembly elections were held today, the DMK would win around 200 seats, reflecting what he described as the prevailing public mood further recalled that DMK president and former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had announced that the inauguration of the Periyar Library in Coimbatore would have been among his first engagements had the DMK returned to power.

'Unfortunately, that did not happen. We do not know when the present government will open the library,' he said

Senthil Balaji said DMK members were not afraid of legal cases and alleged that those currently in power had fled in fear during the Karur stampede incident and were now attempting to target political opponents. (ANI)