Minister MRK rebuts Anbumani’s charges on Dharmapuri neglect
Anbumani had alleged that Chief Minister M K Stalin was neglecting Dharmapuri as ‘revenge’ for the DMK alliance's defeat in all five Assembly constituencies in 2021.
Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister MRK Panneerselvam
CHENNAI: State Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister MRK Panneerselvam on Sunday dismissed PMK president and former Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss's charge that the DMK government was ignoring the Dharmapuri district, while also aiming his standing within the PMK.
Anbumani had alleged that Chief Minister M K Stalin was neglecting Dharmapuri as ‘revenge’ for the DMK alliance's defeat in all five Assembly constituencies in 2021.
Countering this, Panneerselvam said the DMK alliance secured a complete victory in Dharmapuri in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
"If the district had been ignored, could this result have been possible?" he asked in a statement.
Panneerselvam said Anbumani, who was "struggling to assert himself within his party while engaged in differences with his father and PMK founder S Ramadoss," was using Dharmapuri as a political tool.
"A leader who has no space in his party and is caught in internal disputes cannot mislead people by projecting neglect," he said.
On the Dharmapuri–Morapur railway project, the Minister said administrative approval was granted in April 2023 and 60 per cent of the land acquisition had been completed, with Rs 29 crore paid as compensation to 2,000 landholders. The remaining acquisition for the proposed Mookkanur station was in progress, he said.
Rejecting Anbumani's demand for the Cauvery surplus water project, Panneerselvam said the Cauvery Tribunal had barred new irrigation areas, and further steps depended on the Supreme Court's verdict.
On the Dharmapuri SIPCOT Industrial Park, he said first-phase works costing Rs 12.39 crore had been completed, tenders worth Rs 93 crore had been floated for the next phase, and land allotment for seven industries had been finalised.
Panneerselvam also questioned Anbumani's record in Parliament, noting his attendance was 30 per cent in six years. "What did he achieve for Dharmapuri in that period?" he asked, adding that Anbumani should "speak with facts or refrain from incomplete statements."
