India, June 2 -- All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday questioned chief minister C Joseph Vijay over the delay in launching the Singappen Special Task Force (SSTF), a key Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) poll promise aimed at enhancing women's safety, and asked why the initiative was cancelled at the last minute despite being scheduled for rollout last week.

Responding to Vijay's remarks at a public rally on Monday that the SSTF would be launched "next week", Palaniswami asked whether women in Tamil Nadu should remain without protection until the government formally inaugurated the unit.

In a post on social media, the AIADMK leader said, "He (the chief minister) says he will ...