Palaniswami slams TVK-led government over convict’s escape in Coimbatore

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami criticized the TVK-led government on Saturday (October 31, 2026) for a convict's escape from police custody in Coimbatore. He likened the incident to an episode in a television serial, expressing shock over the escape. Palaniswami added the escape to a list of issues affecting the state, such as deteriorating law and order, drug smuggling, inflation, power supply disruptions, and public debt.

Despite Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay's warning to prison officials, the escape occurred, leading Palaniswami to question why such incidents were happening frequently. He asked how people could have confidence in a government that failed to properly guard its prisons. TVK founder T.T.V. Dhinakaran criticized the power supply disruptions at the Meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai during Palaniswami's and Vice-President C.P.

Radhakrishnan's visit, criticizing the State power utility for functioning "arbitrarily" and being unaware of its actions. He urged the Energy Department and the Chief Minister to undertake administrative reforms to ensure uninterrupted power supply, rather than providing "silly reasons."