DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan and TVK chief Vijay clash over corruption allegations related to book purchases for Periyar Arivalayam, with both sides accusing each other of political misconduct and unethical governance practices in Tamil Nadu.
Political Tensions Rise Over Book Purchases
The political row over book purchases for Coimbatore's Periyar Arivalayam escalated on Monday with DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan alleging that the BJP had "elected" Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay through "unlawful" means, as he dismissed corruption allegations against the DMK.
Speaking to ANI, Elangovan claimed Vijay came to power "by EVM fraud and SIR, not by popular votes", alleging that the BJP had asked the TVK government to attack the DMK, and that the TVK was doing so "sincerely" to protect Vijay from the BJP. "After this government came to power, they wanted to mint money. So what they did was, in Periyar Arivulagam, they purchased books at a higher cost, and they wanted to accuse the DMK of that. DMK will not do that. DMK is known for having very good libraries in Tamil Nadu... The BJP had asked them to attack the DMK; that's all. And they are doing it sincerely. Otherwise, they will get caught. They want to protect Vijay from BJP's hands. Because the BJP has elected Vijay through unlawful means. I can say that, by EVM fraud and SIR, only Vijay came to power, not by popular votes," Elangovan said.
Accusations and Counter-Claims
He further claimed the titles and authors of the books purchased pointed to a "TVK game", citing that Trisha-Vijay was the author of one of the books. "Is it not a shame? And they say that the book was bought by the DMK," he said.
The reaction came after Chief Minister and TVK chief Vijay on Friday launched a sharp attack on the DMK, accusing the previous government of corruption in the purchase of books for Coimbatore's Periyar Arivalayam and alleging that the party had used the names of Periyar and Tamil to engage in corrupt practices. In a post shared on X, Vijay referred to allegations raised by Professor Perumal Murugan, who was part of a committee constituted to recommend modern literature and critical works for new libraries, including Periyar Arivalayam.
"We are the ones who have safeguarded our land, language and honour; we are the ones who discovered the Tamil language; we are the very brains of Tamil linguistics; we are the ones empowered to hold the ocean of Tamil literature in our shirt pockets; the crowd that loudly proclaims, “We are Tamil itself,” to fool the public will always be a corrupt lot. It has now come to light that the very fountainhead of corruption, the DMK, is a prime example of this," he wrote.
The TVK chief also accused the DMK of invoking Periyar and the Tamil language while engaging in corruption ."The DMK, which has made a history of plundering in Periyar's name and engaging in corruption, and plundering in Tamil's name and engaging in corruption, is certain to stand permanently with its head bowed, unable to hold its head high in public ever again," he said. "A book recommendation committee has been formed for new libraries, including Periyar Arivalayam, and a government order dated 5.11.2025 was also issued during the previous DMK administration," Vijay added.
Praising Murugan for bringing the alleged irregularities to light, Vijay said, "Professor Perumal Murugan, who was on that committee to recommend modern literature and critical works, has brought to light the corruption in the purchase of books for Periyar Arivalayam. He deserves praise for identifying the source of the corruption." "When we entered politics, we publicly declared at our very own conference that the DMK was plundering in Periyar’s name. To this day, we alone have consistently and uncompromisingly said that the DMK is the very fountainhead of corruption. The DMK itself has proved that what we say about it is always true," he added. (ANI)
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