S. Regupathy. File
| Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj
Tamil Nadu Minister for Natural Resources and senior DMK leader S. Regupathy on Thursday (March 12, 2026) rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegation that there was no protection for women in Tamil Nadu. He said the fact that 42% of women are employed and 52% were pursue higher education was a testament to women’s safety in the State.
“The Prime Minister should first come out with statistics on violence and attacks against women in the BJP-ruled States in the country,” Mr. Regupathy told reporters at Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters in Chennai.
He said in Tamil Nadu, the DMK government had created awareness and women now boldly come forward to file complaints at police stations. “But in other States, there is no security for women in police stations, and they are afraid to approach them to register complaints. We have clear numbers of complaints of attacks against women because we register cases,” he explained.
Mr. Regupathy said random incidents could not be generalised and used to allege that law and order had deteriorated in the State. “The conviction rate in Tamil Nadu is higher than in other States,” he said.
Asked about the complaint that the availability of ganja had resulted in crimes, as in the Nanguneri incident, Mr. Regupathy said ganja was not cultivated in Tamil Nadu. “It is smuggled into Tamil Nadu from other States. It is the duty of the Union government’s Narcotics Control Bureau to prevent the smuggling of ganja. But they allow the smuggling and remain mute spectators without taking any action.” he claimed.
However, the Tamil Nadu police have the courage and capacity to control the menace, he said.
‘Fight between T.N. and Delhi’
Reiterating the BJP-led NDA could not achieve anything in Tamil Nadu politics, he recalled Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s remarks that the 2026 Assembly election would be a fight between Tamil Nadu and Delhi.
“The question before the voters is whether Tamil Nadu should govern the State or whether a government remote-controlled from Delhi should rule the State. The people of Tamil Nadu will not allow a remote-controlled government and will vote overwhelmingly for the continuation of the ‘Dravidian Model’ government for a second term,” he said.
Mr. Regupathy also claimed the people of Tamil Nadu would not believe the corruption charges against the DMK government.
“The previous AIADMK government headed by Edappadi K. Palaniswami became a symbol of corruption, commission, and collection. We used to organise protests against that government. Today, there is no corruption. Our leader will not hesitate to take action against anyone involved in corruption,” he said.
Published – March 12, 2026 05:03 pm IST
