AIADMK, BJP, PMK allege 'Ungaludan Stalin' petitions thrown in river, govt assures action

Chennai, Aug 29 (PTI) AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and BJP leader K Annamalai on Friday alleged that people's grievance petitions submitted under the DMK regime's outreach programme 'Ungaludan Stalin,' (Stalin with you) were thrown away like garbage in a river in south Tamil Nadu.

The government said the papers found floating in Sivaganga district were copies of 13 petitions. An enquiry has been ordered and a complaint has been lodged with the police and appropriate legal action would be taken, Sivaganga District Collector K Porkodi said.

Palaniswami, condemning the dumping of petitions in Vaigai river, alleged that the DMK's outreach scheme was launched merely for the sake of gaining publicity.

The petitions getting junked is "strongly condemnable", and the petitions were scattered in the river like the immersion of the ashes of a dead person, he claimed.

Palaniswami further alleged that the state government could not understand the trials and tribulations and sentiments of the people and dubbed the Ungaludan Stalin as an "eye wash" of the DMK regime, and a "staged drama".

BJP Tamil Nadu President Nainar Nagenthran called the government a "negligent model government" over the issue.

He sought to know if the chief minister would take action on this issue or focus on publicity.

PMK top leader Anbumani Ramadoss asked what else to expect from the DMK regime, which is working for empty publicity? Anbumani said people will teach a lesson to those who think of fooling the people.

Hitting out at the DMK regime, Annamalai alleged that giving fancy names for its schemes and wasting taxpayers' money on publicity has become the hallmark of this "patch work-model DMK government." "The so-called Ungaludan Stalin Scheme launched recently has now been exposed as a set of petitions representing grievances were found floating in the Vaigai River in Sivagangai district." "In the last 4 years, DMK's lofty poll promises have gone down the drain, and today, even the people’s grievances are being thrown away like garbage," the former state unit chief of the BJP alleged in a social media post.

Palaniswami, Nagenthran and Annamalai posted a 1.04 minute video clip which showed bunches of petitions purportedly submitted by the people to the authorities in Sivaganga district under the outreach programme floating on water.

Sivaganga district collector Porkodi said an enquiry has been ordered and officials and personnel who worked at the Tiruppuvanam Taluk Office were being questioned over the discarding of petitions.

The papers found floating in the Vaigai river near Tiruppuvanam were copies of 13 petitions. Grievances outlined in 6 petitions have already been addressed and 7 others were under process through taluk office.

A complaint has been lodged with the district police superintendent. Enquiry is on to initiate appropriate legal action against those responsible for the incident, she said.

On July 15, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin launched the outreach programme 'Ungaludan Stalin,' (Stalin with you) to take government services to the people and redress grievances by organising special camps in their neighbourhoods.

Starting from July 15 and till November, 10,000 camps (3,768 in urban areas and 6,232 in rural areas) would be organised to redress grievances, Stalin had already announced. PTI VGN SA VGN ROH