RS Bharathi Challenges CM Vijay to Open ‘Three Files’, Warns of Legal Action

DMK organisation secretary R.S. Bharathi has challenged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to make public the three files he recently referred to in the Assembly, while warning that he would pursue legal action if allegations were levelled against the previous DMK government.

Addressing a DMK event, Bharathi claimed Vijay’s reference to the three files was linked to CAG reports concerning three departments. He explained that audit reports examine government functioning at various administrative levels and said such reports do not necessarily amount to proof of corruption.

Bharathi nevertheless dared the Chief Minister to “open the three files”, saying he would respond legally if the documents were made public. He cited his earlier legal action in the TANSI land case involving former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, arguing that he had acted similarly when challenged over the purchase of government land by a government entity.

Referring to Vijay’s remarks as an example of an “arrogant” approach, Bharathi said the Chief Minister should reconsider the advice being given by people around him. He alleged that corruption had already begun in the Chief Minister’s room, without providing specific evidence to substantiate the claim.

The exchange comes amid controversy over the government’s proposal to establish a new office for Vijay at Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai inside the Fort St George Secretariat complex. The proposed facility has triggered allegations of irregularities in the ₹5.54-crore tender process. The Chief Minister’s Office currently operates from the main Secretariat block, with the ruling TVK maintaining that the existing space is inadequate.

In the Assembly on August 19, Vijay had said files concerning three departments, reviewed by the government and containing evidence, were on his table. He warned the opposition against prompting the government to open them, saying they would be made public “at the right time.”

The remarks have since intensified the political confrontation between the ruling TVK and the DMK, with Bharathi now openly challenging the Chief Minister to disclose the alleged evidence.