Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay, on Friday (March 27, 2026), accused the Greater Chennai Police and some officials of obstructing his scheduled election campaign at the Perambur Assembly constituency in the city on Saturday (March 28) and termed the denial of permission as “a fascist attack on democracy.”
In a statement, Mr. Vijay said his party had sought permission for an election campaign meeting to be held on Saturday at Mullai Nagar junction in the Perambur Assembly constituency, two days prior to the schedule. However, a day before the scheduled campaign, on Friday, the Greater Chennai Corporation had dug pits at the location and placed barricades, he said. “How did these sudden pits and barricades come from?” he questioned.
At this juncture, the police conducted an inspection and said 3,000 people could not gather at the venue. Based on this assessment, the application seeking permission was rejected on the grounds that the location was not suitable for campaigning, Mr. Vijay said. “Shouldn’t the caretaker DMK government be ashamed of acting against TVK with the support of certain officials?” he questioned.
“Every time I plan an election campaign, the DMK government continues to delay or deny permission citing various reasons. This act of deliberately crushing the democratic rights of a new political party that has received overwhelming public support creates the impression that some officials are acting as agents of the ruling party,” he claimed.
“Such an act reflects an authoritarian mindset that thinks whoever rises against us will be suppressed using administrative power. This obstruction is proof of how much the DMK fears TVK. The people of Tamil Nadu will send this anti-democratic DMK government out of power,” he added.
Later in the evening, District Election Officer and Corporation Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran denied the allegations made by TVK president Vijay about obstructions by the GCC to his scheduled election campaign in Perambur Assembly Constituency.
Talking to media persons, he said the Chennai District Election Office will scrutinise the applications and issue the permission based on standard operating procedure, in consultation with the police. Chennai Corporation has not been carrying out any work in the area and new work has not been launched either, he said.
In a statement on X, the Corporation clarified that Metrowater had launched a work to restore water supply in the area by digging the road and the work has been completed. The application on Suvidha Portal was rejected as the petitioner had declared that 3000 persons were expected to gather in S M Nagar 82nd Block Junction which is a congested stretch suitable for a small gathering. Once the revised application is submitted by identifying alternative locations, the officials will scrutinise the application, it said.