CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay’s Children’s Day event, during which he distributed cakes to school students in Chennai’s Kolathur constituency on Friday with the message ‘All is well’ printed on the cake packets, drew sharp criticisms from AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and state BJP president Nainar Nagendran. They accused the CM and his govt of failing to ensure the safety of women and children amid a spate of crimes, including cases allegedly involving TVK functionaries and the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl in Tirupur district.Palaniswami took to social media to condemn the govt, citing the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl in Veerapandi in Tirupur district and an attempt to murder a girl student by setting her ablaze in Periyapalayam. He demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible and stringent legal action against them.He said crimes against women and children had been on the rise during the six months of the “deemed Thaaimaaman” govt and took a swipe at Vijay by asking, “Is all well, CM?”Referring to the girl who went missing in Gingee more than a month ago, Palaniswami said the govt had failed to trace her, while the CM was busy distributing cakes to schoolchildren. “Are you not ashamed of it, CM?” he asked, adding that children were no longer safe at home, in schools, on the streets or anywhere else.“Only criminals are confident in your govt,” he said, questioning how women and children could feel safe under Vijay’s rule.He said AIADMK Kallakurichi women wing would hold a protest on Nov 17 demanding stern action against MLA C Arul Vignesh for sending obscene message to district collector and for trespassing into the collector’s camp office in an inebriated condition at late hours.BJP leader Nagendran said 14 children had gone missing in Cuddalore and Villupuram districts, alleging that the state had turned into a safe haven for criminals and kidnappers. He termed the situation a dangerous sign.Senior BJP leader Vanathi Srinivasan criticised the govt over reports about missing children. She expressed shock over a complaint lodged by a woman TVK functionary against Karuppusamy, the party’s Karamadai union secretary. The woman had alleged that he had harassed her, threatened to kill her and subjected her to caste-based atrocities.
