Think of priorities before the nascent DMK state government and you are fated to face absolute absence of propriety in the behaviour of DMK ministers and their minions. Health Minister Subramanaiam, for instance, spends more time and energy in picking up quarrel with the Central government, be it vaccination drive, oxygen availability, distribution of Remdesivir, bed facility even in Chennai and urban centers than finding solutions. Worse, when Sterlite management offered to support the production of oxygen, the DMK government dilly dallied and accepted only after the Supreme Court’s intervention.
Isha Founder Jaggi Vasudev ji has been spearheading a movement demanding freeing the temple administration from governmental control. (Hindu organizations like VHP and Hindu Munnani have been consistently fighting for the same cause for decades). Normally, we would have expected the response for this from the Minister of HR&CE. However, curiously Dr Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR), Minister for Finance and Human Resources Management took up the cudgels with Jaggi in an interview given to a private channel. When he had burning issues to attend to in his own ministries and his own Madurai City where Corona cases were touching new highs, he found time to talk to a channel.
During the first wave of Corona last year, Ayurveda and Siddha care centers also shared the burden of providing timely low cost, effective treatment. Without bothering to ascertain the facts, then the very same party men and its spokespersons waxed eloquent about the Siddha medicine and blamed the Centre for turning blind eye to Siddha because of its origin in TN. However, the new government has not considered it fit to revive such care centers. Not only that, what we witness is their party men, including some MLAs ridiculing the native medicine and practices.
Corona relief packages distribution activities were taken forward through the ruling party cadre. Non- partisan volunteers and NGOs were neglected. Even tokens to collect the money and material meant for the beneficiaries are distributed through the party cadre and not by the government officials. DMK as a party right from late Karunanidhi’s days has mastered the ‘ art ‘ of obfuscating the dividing line between ruling party and bureaucracy. This deplorable practice touched another high when, on May18, District Collector, Police Commissioner and City Commissioner attended a meeting (to review Covid 19 impact status and action plan) held at the DMK party office in Trichy chaired by School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi .
Ever since assuming office, CM Stalin and his council of ministers parrot the term ‘ Onriya arasu ‘ to refer to the Central Government. Vai Ko, the leader of MDMK after losing in 2014 parliament elections has been clutching this straw to remind us of his existence. Citing the Constitution, he calls Bharat that is India as the Union of States and he now and then voices his views as to States’ right to get separated from the Central government just as in the US. It may be pointed out that DMK is the off-spring of the Justice Party and Dravidar Kazhakam, that never believed in the oneness and greatness of Bharat.
As per the Government website, the temple administration comes under the Ministry of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments headed by PK Sekar Babu. However, he is referred to as ‘Ara Nilayath Thurai Amaichar‘. It means Minister of Religious Affairs. See the extent to which DMK’s allergy for ‘Hindu’ goes.
After all, assuming power is easy; however, acting responsibly is not.
