Tamil Nadu: TVK warns of massive protest if houses in Villivakkam demolished

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 10 (ANI): Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has warned of a massive protest against the alleged demolition drive in Villivakkam in Chennai.
TVK General Secretary Aadhav Arjuna on Monday said that the party will stage a protest by mobilising 5,000 people if houses are demolished and not rebuilt for the affected residents.
The TVK leader accused the DMK-led government of "obtaining biometric data from residents without their knowledge" to secure a court order to demolish the houses. He demanded that the state government grant Villivakkam residents time to file a counter-petition in the Supreme Court.
Aadhav Arjuna told reporters, "The party will stage a protest by mobilising 5,000 people if houses are demolished in the name of waterbody encroachments in Villivakkam and are not rebuilt for the affected residents. How were property registrations allowed for these houses if they were indeed encroachments? People have been living in the area for nearly 30 years, and converting a fully inhabited locality into an encroachment zone now was unfair."
"The government obtained biometric data from residents without their knowledge and secured a court order to demolish the houses when the residents did not have proper legal representation. The state government should grant time for the affected residents to file a counter-petition in the Supreme Court of India and present their arguments. The demolitions were carried out with the support of police and workers of the DMK," he added.
TVK's attack against the DMK comes ahead of the Legislative Assembly elections, where the debutant party led by actor-turned-politician Vijay is looking to make a mark against the ruling DMK-Congress-led alliance and the AIADMK-BJP-led NDA in Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, the party has also announced a protest on March 12 across Tamil Nadu, over demands including a caste survey, and the law and order situation in the state.
TVK, in an X post, also slammed the DMK and asked the state government to withdraw the guidelines for the political parties, which allegedly are blocking TVK chief Vijay's public meetings.
TVK wrote, "We demand that the Tamil Nadu government immediately issue the Caste-survey order in order to give importance to proportional representation. We condemn the Tamil Nadu government for failing to prevent the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu and the drugs that are spreading all over Tamil Nadu. We urge the withdrawal of the guidelines for political parties, which are completely undemocratic in nature, in the name of political sabotage and blocking and diluting the public meetings of the President of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam."
"Emphasising these, a grand protest demonstration will be held on behalf of the Tamil Nadu Victory Party on the 12th (12.03.2026) at 10 am in all district capitals across Tamil Nadu. We request the party executives and comrades to participate in this demonstration without fail," the X post read. (ANI)