At a time when he was expected to lead from the front the battle to contain the spread of COVID-19, why was the Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani absent on the field, DMK MLA N. Karthik said in a release issued here on Saturday.
The Minister and his party workers appeared to be keen to pose for photographs of local bodies spraying disinfectants or in budget canteens (Amma Unavagam) in violation of personal distancing norms.
They were also equally enthusiastic in interfering in the distribution of cash and relief materials through fair price shops, he said and pointed out that the same enthusiasm seemed to be missing in helping people.
In the past 25 days of lockdown, neither Mr. Velumani or the AIADMK had reached out to people. It was the DMK, on the instructions of its party president and Leader of Opposition M.K. Stalin, that had reached out to the have-nots.
Mr. Karthik said this was the time that the ruling party should have led from the front but it had not. When several non-government organisations and DMK were helping out people, the State government had only tried to curtail their relief works.
The MLA also took on the Coimbatore Corporation for not providing food in time to its conservancy workers not giving them personal protection equipment.