Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu chief Nainar Nagenthran sharply criticised the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government, citing the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report to challenge its claims on social justice and public safety.

In a post on social media platform X on October 1, Nagenthran sarcastically referenced the DMK's "Oraniyil Tamil Nadu" (Tamil Nadu in One Team) public outreach campaign, questioning if the rising crime statistics truly reflected a unified and secure state. He accused the administration of failing to maintain law and order, particularly highlighting increases in crimes against children, Scheduled Castes (SC), and cybercrimes since the DMK assumed power in 2021.

According to Nagenthran, crimes against children rose by 15% from 6,064 cases in 2021 to 6,968 in 2023, with an intermediate figure of 6,580 in 2022. He also pointed to a 39% increase in crimes against SC communities over the same period, labelling it as contradictory to the DMK's emphasis on social justice. Under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, cases increased by 9.1% from 1,761 in 2022 to 1,921 in 2023, marking a sharp 68% rise over five years from 2019 to 2023. Additionally, he noted a 283% surge in cybercrimes during the DMK's three-year tenure, attributing it to the government's alleged suppression of freedom of expression.

Nagenthran urged the DMK government, led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, to feel ashamed for promoting an image of good governance while allegedly undermining public security. The NCRB, an agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs that compiles annual crime data from across India, released its 2023 report recently, providing a comprehensive overview of crime trends. Tamil Nadu's overall crime rate stood at 264.9 per lakh population, slightly below the national average of 270.3 per lakh.

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However, the report also showed some declines: crimes against women decreased from 9,207 in 2022 to 8,943 in 2023, and murder cases saw a marginal drop from 1,690 to 1,681. These figures come amid ongoing political tensions between the opposition BJP and the ruling DMK, with the latter often emphasising progressive policies in one of India's most industrialised states.

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