CM Stalin people-centric, unlike EPS who abandoned public: TN Minister TRB Rajaa

CHENNAI: Hitting back at Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami for his criticism of Chief Minister MK Stalin’s discharge of duties from the hospital, State Industries Minister TRB Rajaa on Wednesday said that the hands-on leadership approach of Stalin would only be surprising to Palaniswami, who has never effectively engaged with the people during any crisis as chief minister.

Taking a strong exception to the LoP’s criticism Rajaa said that the Chief Minister discharged his duties without disruption by summoning officials and reviewing the government functioning, verifying the progress of ‘Ungaludan Stalin’ scheme and ascertaining the feedback of district Collectors regarding their field visits, preparing the memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister during his visit to State and interacting with the people to gather feedback.

“In contrast, the current Leader of the Opposition, who oversaw the police firing and killing of 13 innocent people during the anti-Sterlite protests, later claimed, ‘I just saw it on TV. Only then I got to know.’ For such a person, who has never discharged his duties as a Chief Minister effectively, the hands-on approach of Chief Minister Stalin will no wonder be surprising,” remarked Rajaa.

“‘People who once wrote melodramatic stories like, “Amma (Jayalalithaa) ate idli, played with nurses, watched TV, ate kichdi, gave gifts to nurses, and gave intellectual advice to doctors,’ — please demonstrate your low-level theatrics to the society!” said Rajaa, in a statement issued on Wednesday.