A rash of political killings in Tamil Nadu, with bombs, timer devices and the good old arrivals (sickles) being liberally used, has sent alarm bells ringing with various political parties voicing their concern over the manner in which scores are settled.

In a hard-hitting statement, Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S Ramadoss, a DMK ally, has warned that Tamil Nadu would soon go the Bihar way, if the government did not check the political murders and broke the nexus between politicians and criminals.

The murders posed an unprecedented danger to the people, Ramadoss said in a statement. “Gone are the days when gang leaders worked behind the scenes in politics. Today, they are directly involved in politics and leaders nurture and protect them,” he pointed out.

Suggesting that the police force needed a revamp, Ramadoss said: “All leaders should be united in curbing criminalisation of politics by weeding out unscrupulous elements from their organisation while allowing the police a free hand to go after them.” Political interference, he said, should be done away with, as otherwise Tamil Nadu could well turn into a Bihar or Uttar Pradesh.

While former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has been harping on the “deteriorating law and order situation” in the state, actor-politician Vijayakanth has lashed out at the DMK government for its “poor handling of law and order.”

On Saturday, a DMK district secretary, ‘Poondi’ Kalaiaselvan, was hacked to death in Tiruvarur, the Chief Minister’s hometown, by a nine-member gang. On the same day, in Kancheepuram, about 60 km from Chennai, the Chengalpattu Municipal vice-chairman and AIADMK town secretary, M Kumar, and an associate, Arumugham, were hacked to death by a 10-member gang.

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