Chennai: Chief minister C Joseph Vijay and DMK on Friday accused each other of the irregularities in purchase of books for Periyar Arivulagam in Coimbatore.“The future generations of Tamil Nadu will never forgive DMK, which has made a habit of repeatedly indulging in corruption that directly affect people’s lives,” said Vijay in an X post. He alleged that DMK has a history of looting and indulging in corruption in the name of Periyar and Tamil. “DMK will now be left permanently hanging its head in shame before the people,” he said.The library-cum-knowledge centre, built at a cost of ₹300 crore, was inaugurated by Vijay on Oct 16. Former chief minister M K Stalin visited it on Nov 4 and attended a felicitation programme organised by DK leader K Veeramani for conceiving the idea during his tenure and constructing it.In a post on X, Vijay praised writer Perumal Murugan for highlighting the irregularities in book procurement. He said this has once again exposed that DMK govt was replete with corruption, from municipal administration to Tasmac.DMK hit back at TVK, questioning the timing and transparency of the book purchases. In a statement, it alleged books published by Agal Vilakku Pathippagam and Phoenix Pathippagam had June purchase stamps, coinciding with Vijay’s birthday, while other renowned publications had March stamps, indicating purchases under DMK govt. It asked “when exactly were the bogus books bought, who selected them and who benefited”, and demanded an independent and transparent probe to unravel the truth behind the procurement.Former DMK minister Govi Chezhian said TVK was trying to exploit the irregularities for a political purpose. “TVK govt’s school education minister, who is accustomed to blaming DMK for everything, and the party’s virtual abusers are, as usual, blaming DMK,” he said. “What is surprisingly shocking is that even the chief minister, who has so far remained silent on issues such as law and order, rising prices and electricity tariff hikes, has now issued a statement, apparently hoping that this would help divert public attention,” he said.
