Chennai, July 30 Tamil Nadu Industries Minister T.R.B. Rajaa, on Wednesday, countered the remarks made by the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) regarding Chief Minister M.K. Stalin discharging his duties from the hospital.
Rajaa said that Chief Minister Stalin's hands-on style of leadership could only surprise someone like Palaniswami, who had "never effectively engaged with the people during any crisis" when he was the Chief Minister.
In a statement, the Minister said CM Stalin ensured there was no disruption in governance while being hospitalised.
"He (CM Stalin) summoned officials, reviewed the state government's functioning, monitored the progress of the Ungaludan Stalin scheme, sought feedback from district collectors on their field visits, prepared the memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister during his visit to Tamil Nadu, and even interacted directly with the public," Rajaa said.
Drawing a sharp comparison between Stalin and Palaniswami, the Minister criticised Palaniswami's handling of the 2018 anti-Sterlite protests in Thoothukudi.
"This is the same person under whose watch police firing claimed the lives of 13 innocent people. He later said, 'I just saw it on TV; only then I got to know.' To such a person, Chief Minister Stalin's hands-on approach will naturally be surprising," Rajaa said.
The Industries Minister also hit out at Palaniswami for "theatrics," drawing parallels with how former AIADMK leaders allegedly released dramatic narratives about former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's hospitalisation.
"People who once wrote melodramatic stories like, 'Amma ate idli, played with nurses, watched TV, ate khichdi, gave gifts to nurses, and gave intellectual advice to doctors,' should stop their low-level theatrics," Rajaa said.
Responding to Palaniswami's criticism on the recent electricity tariff hike, the Minister reminded that it was Palaniswami who signed the Centre's Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) power scheme agreement after Jayalalithaa's death.
"She (J. Jayalalithaa) had refused to join the scheme. EPS betrayed Tamil Nadu by signing the agreement. Even the remotest villages know this fact. Now he sheds crocodile tears about electricity tariffs," Rajaa said.
He also asked Palaniswami's silence on the sharp rise in LPG cylinder prices under the Union government.
"The price of a domestic LPG cylinder was Rs 414 in 2014; it is now Rs 868.50. Is the Leader of the Opposition unaware of this or is he, as usual, pretending?" Rajaa asked.
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