Kallakurichi TVK MLA-Collector row: Tamil Nadu Minister Vanni Arasu says VCK will stand by victims

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Vanni Arasu. File | Photo Credit: M. Sathyamoorthy

Tamil Nadu Social Justice Minister Vanni Arasu, who is the Minister in-charge for Kallakurichi, on Friday (November 13, 2026) hailed the District Collector J.E. Padmaja as an honest officer and said there is a responsibility to protect women entering public life and those working in government service.

When journalists asked the Minister about claims that ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA C. Arul Vignesh had sent an objectionable text message to the Collector, Mr. Arasu, who belongs to the VCK, an ally of the TVK, said he was yet to inquire into the matter.

Mr. Arasu said he had come across reports about the alleged message while travelling to Masinagudi in The Nilgiris for a programme to distribute forest rights titles to tribal people two days earlier. “I would comment further if the Chief Minister or the authorities concerned asked me to examine the matter and submit a report,” he said.

The Minister, who launched a palmyra seed-planting programme at Keeranur lake in Ulundurpet, said spreading defamatory allegations against the Collector amounted to preventing women in public life from discharging their duties. He said Ms. Padmaja was an honest officer “who acted strictly in accordance with the law, without yielding to either the ruling party or the opposition.”

Kallakurichi Collector J.E. Padmaja | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“There is a responsibility to protect women entering public life and those working in government service. The VCK has always stood with victims and on the side of justice,” he said. Spreading allegations, intimidating women and disrupting their work were recurring problems, he added.

Praising the Collector’s impartiality, he said, the Collector had declined recommendations made even by VCK functionaries and had maintained that administrative decisions must follow the prescribed rules.

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