Opposition leader takes umbrage at Tamilisai’s “politically charged” remarks 

Opposition leader takes umbrage at Tamilisai’s “politically charged” remarks 

Leader of Opposition and DMK Convenor R. Siva on Tuesday said Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan should first set her house in order in Puducherry before making “politically charged” statements on flood relief measures of the Tamil Nadu Government headed by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

Lashing out at Ms. Soundararajan’s charge that the DMK government was neglectful of southern districts that bore the brunt of intense flooding from heavy rains, Mr. Siva said in a statement that such remarks did not behove of an incumbent in a gubernatorial office. In continuing to indulge in politics, Ms. Soundararajan continues to act as if she was still BJP president in Tamil Nadu, and lower the dignity of the Governor post, he alleged.

Deeming it ironic for someone whose rise was a product of the success of the Dravidian social justice model to now rail against it when aligned with the BJP, the DMK leader demanded that the Lt. Governor first resolve the administrative lacunae in Puducherry before criticising the rain relief efforts of the Tamil Nadu Government.

Mr. Siva pointed out that Chief Minister N. Rangasamy and Speaker R. Selvam were on record about the non-cooperation of the bureaucracy and the resultant administrative imbroglio. He also flagged unaddressed issues such as saline intrusion in groundwater in urban and rural areas, the steady degradation of 85 lakes, basin dams and tanks, the delay in constructing the Uppanar flyover to ease traffic congestion and the lack of plan to improve infrastructure for tourists.

Mr. Siva also sought to know if the Lt. Governor had any plan to alleviate the plight of thousands of youth migrating to neighbouring states for study and work, to fill up the vacancies in the government departments or raise the workdays under the minimum guarantee scheme to 100 from the abysmal level of 20 days of work at present. He also wondered if any thought was being given to alleviate the rising ganja culture, the stalling of the smart city projects, reopening shuttered ration shops, or Puducherry’s non-inclusion in the 16th Finance Commission that deprived access to funds and crippled economic growth.

Stating that it was ironic for the Lt. Governor of a U.T. that was besieged with so many challenges to find fault in the administration of Tamil Nadu, Mr. Siva said Ms. Soundararajan should either perform her Constitutional function properly or quit the role and enter the political arena.