NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, APRIL 13
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President M K Stalin on Sunday hits out at Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami for accusing him of doing ‘opportunistic politics’ vis-a-vis the fight against COVID-19, saying he was asking questions as an opposition leader and at the right time.
அரசு எதுவும் செய்யவில்லை என்பது போல் சித்தரித்து, பரிந்துரை செய்கிறேன் என்ற பெயரில், அரசு மீது ஆதாரமற்ற குற்றச்சாட்டுகளை சுமத்துவது எதிர்க்கட்சித் தலைவரின் சந்தர்ப்பவாத அரசியலையே காண்பிக்கிறது. pic.twitter.com/1UAYqK4X4h
— CMOTamilNadu (@CMOTamilnadu) April 12, 2020
There was no place for politics during such a ‘disaster,’ Stalin said in response to Palaniswami’s charge against him on Saturday, where the Chief Minister had lashed out at the Leader of the Opposition.
Hitting out at Stalin after he wrote a letter to him, raising many issues, including the need for extending the lockdown, Palaniswami had said the state took an early lead in tackling the spread of COVID-19 and slammed the Leader of the Opposition for indulging in ‘opportunistic politics’ on the issue.
கொரோனா காலத்தில் அரசியல் செய்யாமல் சமூகப் பேரிடரைச் சரி செய்வீர்! #TNFightsCorona https://t.co/HzysoPS0jG
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) April 4, 2020
On Sunday, Stalin refuted Palaniswami’s contention that he was trying to paint a picture that the government was not doing anything in the fight against coronavirus, and recalled his party’s constructive support to the ruling AIADMK in its efforts in this matter.
‘I only said the government has to be prepared, considering the severity of the pandemic. The Chief Minister cannot even tolerate that,’ Stalin said in a statement here.
If it were true that the state had indeed taken a lead ahead in January as mentioned by the Chief Minister, then why had he last week appealed to people who had travelled out of the state to volunteer themselves for COVID-19 tests?, Stalin asked.
If, as stated by Palaniswami, the government procured necessary personal protection equipment and N-95 masks among others in advance, why did he mention in late March that a number of these items are going to be purchased, Stalin asked.
‘As the state Leader of the Opposition, cannot I raise (these issues). What is the opportunism in this. I am asking (questions) at the time they need to be asked,’ he said.
The DMK had for long warned the government on this issue and its repeated pleas earlier to curtail the Assembly session last month was proof enough, the Stalin said.
However, the Chief Minister had initially batted for the completion of the session, originally scheduled till April 9 before it was cut short, he said.
On his opposition to the state government’s decision to utilise Rs one crore from MLAs’ funds, which was ridiculed by Palaniswami on Saturday, Stalin said the legislators will only spend the money according to local needs. He claimed it was a ‘conspiracy’ to prevent the good work done by his party MLAs.
Further, he wondered what was the ‘hesitation’ in extending the ongoing lockdown and questioned if the state was apprehensive of Centre in this matter.
Incidentally, his party had urged the Centre to heed Tamil Nadu’s plea for grants towards various efforts in its fight against coronavirus, during the video conference meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi had had with opposition leaders earlier.
Stalin said this was not the time to do politics, but his party will not remain silent if the government ‘played with the lives of people.’ ‘Government should function properly for the people, else DMK will make the government function. I reiterate that there are many platforms for the DMK to do politics but this disaster is one meant to serve people,’ he added.
