On 3 September 2026, the Tamil Nadu Assembly saw some bizarre moments. TVK Ranipet MLA Tahira demanded the closure of a supposed JK Tyres factory in Ranipet. In the process, the TVK MLA and her minister exposed the ‘tharkuriness’ of the party and government.
Why was this a problem? JK Tyres does not have a manufacturing plant in Ranipet.
Ranipet MLA Tahira alleged that the JK Tyres plant was causing severe environmental damage and demanded that it be shut down.
“The JK Tyres plant in Ranipet operates through the night, causing severe environmental damage during the day. Local residents have staged protests over this, alleging that the previous administration failed to take any action. That company must be shut down under our government; we do not need it.”
ராணிப்பேட்டையில் JK டயர்ஸ் ஆலையை இழுத்து மூட வேண்டும் என சட்டப் பேரவையில் தவெக எம்.எல்.ஏ கோரிக்கை#SunNews | #Ranipet | #TNAssembly | #TVK pic.twitter.com/jecCEmxFzo
— Sun News (@sunnewstamil) September 3, 2026
This was not some casual statement made outside the Assembly. It was a demand to shut down an industrial establishment, made on the floor of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
And the Industries Minister, Keerthana, responded without apparently knowing that the facility being discussed did not exist.
She said the government had to balance employment and environmental concerns.
“The MLA has called for the closure of JK Tyres. While we must certainly provide jobs for the youth and ensure companies operate here, I wish to state that we will take measures to ensure environmental protection and implement necessary legal amendments to ensure the company continues to operate in Tamil Nadu.”
Few minutes later, Industries minister S Keerthana gets up and says the factory will be asked to curb pollution, but such industries and factories are required to provide employment to the youth. https://t.co/OpWd5acZ7L pic.twitter.com/gbuXTzUxCw
— Kannan Jeevanantham (JK) (@Im_kannanj) September 3, 2026
There is only one small problem with this grand discussion about jobs, industries and environmental protection.
There was no JK Tyres manufacturing plant in Ranipet to begin with.
JK Tyres’ own records identify its Tamil Nadu manufacturing facility as the Chennai Tyre Plant, located at Kolathur Village on the Sriperumbudur-Tambaram Road in Kancheepuram district.
The company’s manufacturing facilities are located in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttarakhand as well.
Ranipet is not listed as a manufacturing location.
So what exactly was Tahira demanding that the government shut down?
Further checking indicates that there is a JK Tyres outlet in the area. But it appears to be a tyre-retreading/service facility, not a JK Tyres manufacturing plant.
That makes the entire episode even more bizarre.
A local establishment appears to have been mistaken for a factory, allegations of environmental damage were made against it, and the closure of “JK Tyres” was demanded inside the Assembly.
The Industries Minister then responded to the allegation as though a JK Tyres manufacturing operation actually existed in Ranipet.
This is what happens when political representation is treated as an extension of fan-club culture rather than a serious responsibility.
TVK has attracted a large ecosystem of Vijay fans into politics. Many of them may have enthusiasm for their leader, but enthusiasm is not a substitute for administrative knowledge, basic fact-checking or an understanding of the portfolios they are dealing with.
An MLA representing an industrial district should know the difference between a tyre-retreading outlet and a tyre manufacturing plant.
An Industries Minister should know it even more so.
But the story did not end there.
Once it became clear that JK Tyres had no manufacturing facility in Ranipet, Keerthana came up with another explanation.
In a statement issued after the Assembly exchange, she acknowledged that JK Tyres did not have a manufacturing facility in Ranipet.
Her explanation was that a reference had been made in the Assembly to a JK Tyres unit and that, on verification, the company had no manufacturing facility there.
She then said the environmental issue raised by the MLA would be investigated to identify the “concerned non-JK tyres unit” and that appropriate action would be taken wherever required.
Read that again.
A reference was made in the Assembly today to a JK Tyre unit in Ranipet. On verification, JK Tyre does not have a manufacturing facility in Ranipet. The environmental issue raised by the Hon’ble Member will, however, be looked into to identify the concerned non JK tyre unit and… pic.twitter.com/9eIi6vaDX3
— Virudhai Magal Keerthana (@Keerthana4VNR) September 3, 2026
The Minister’s own clarification effectively confirms that the Assembly was discussing the wrong company and the wrong facility.
Yet instead of simply admitting that the government had its facts wrong, Keerthana tried to turn the episode into a lesson on environmental responsibility. She said her response was about the “larger and important principle” that Tamil Nadu needs industries and jobs, but growth cannot come at the cost of environmental compliance.
That would be a reasonable position — if the government had first established which company and facility it was talking about.
Instead, the sequence is absurd.
The TVK MLA first demanded the closure of a supposed JK Tyres factory in Ranipet. The government then discovered that JK Tyres has no manufacturing facility there. It subsequently said it would identify the “concerned non-JK tyres unit” that the MLA was actually referring to.
And yet Keerthana still sought to defend her original response.
The irony is that the Minister herself highlighted JK Tyre’s ₹5,143-crore investment commitment to Tamil Nadu, signed through Guidance Tamil Nadu at the VETTRI Tamil Nadu Investment Conclave, with the potential to create 3,510 jobs. She also noted JK Tyre’s clarification that its operations comply with applicable environmental regulations.
So an industrial investor committing ₹5,143 crore to Tamil Nadu was dragged into an Assembly controversy over a factory it does not even have in Ranipet.
If the Industries Minister did not know that basic fact, what confidence can companies have that the TVK government understands the industries it is supposed to protect?
And if the establishment near Tahira’s constituency is merely a tyre-retreading or service outlet, why was a local grievance presented as a demand to shut down a JK Tyres “plant”?
The TVK government has managed to turn a potentially legitimate environmental complaint into farce: an MLA complained about a non-existent factory, and the Industries Minister initially answered as though it existed, only to defend that answer after the facts came out.
Tharkuri Vijay Kazhagam, indeed.
Subscribe to our channels on WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and YouTube to get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
