The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Paneerselvam joins issue with DPA

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 20, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Paneerselvam joins issue with DPA

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: PWD Minister O. Paneerselvam has joined issue with the Democratic Progressive Alliance over the party's resolution on Sunday seeking Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's resignation over the stampede at M.G.R Nagar which claimed more than 40 lives.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, Mr. Paneerselvam said though the Government had made it clear that distribution of relief tokens would commence only at 9 a.m., people had started gathering before the Arignar Anna school from 3.45 a.m, due to the mischief by rumour mongers.

Rumours were spread claiming that it had been announced through radio that tokens for the relief package would be issued from 1.30 a.m. onwards and Sunday was the last day for receiving the package that would be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, he said.

This pointed to a deep-rooted conspiracy by vested interests to malign the Jayalalithaa government. Distribution of relief to the flood-affected was proceeding smoothly and this had irked the miscreants, the Minister said.

Responding to DMK leader M. Karunanidhi's charge that the government had failed to constitute all-party committees for flood relief, Mr. Paneerselvam said district and ward-level flood relief advisory committees, comprising MLAs, MPs, panchayat leaders and NGO representatives, were constituted in the affected districts on December 12 under the leadership of the respective District Collectors.

On the demand that Ms. Jayalalithaa should step down owning moral responsibility, he asked whether Mr. Karunanidhi had set a good precedent by quitting office, particularly in the wake of the serial blasts in Coimbatore in 1998 and the watery grave met by the workers of the Manjolai in Tamiraparani river during the previous DMK rule.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu