Guv talking politics at college events unacceptable: Balaji

Coimbatore: Electricity minister V Senthil Balaji on Saturday criticised governor R N Ravi for talking politics at college events, terming it unacceptable.
At a function at a city college recently, Ravi had criticized the state government for the delay in referring the car blast case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Talking to the media after inaugurating new road works to be carried out by the city corporation at a cost of 26 crore, the minister said had the governor felt that there was a delay on the part of the state government in referring the case to the NIA, he could have discussed the same with the director general of police and the chief secretary immediately. “Instead of doing that, he politicized the issue four days after the incident took place.”
Balaji said the district administration and police handled the incident in a meticulous way to maintain the law and order situation. Traders, he said, had appreciated the steps taken by the authorities, as Diwali celebrations were not affected.
Calling the state BJP president K Annamalai a political clown, the minister requested the media not to ask questions about him at the government functions and events. “He does not have the qualities to be a leader. When the district BJP unit announced a bandh, he should have responded immediately. His response in the court was that the bandh announced without the concurrence of the state leadership was unacceptable.”
Pointing out that the idea of growing the party by gaining media attention alone would not help, Balaji said, “If a party needs to grow, it has to take up services for the public.”
When asked about the fate of Vellalore bus terminal, the minister said an appropriate decision would be taken by the corporation councillors based on the opinion of the public.
Balaji said chief minister M K Stalin was allocating enough funds for the district to renovate roads and lay new roads. “Already, 44 crore worth of road work has been completed. The highways department is carrying out road works at a cost of 140 crore. In total, work is on to lay roads for a stretch of 117km at a cost of 210 crore.” The minister said ₹200 crore would be allotted to the city for laying roads. “We have sanctioned 26 crore and the remaining will be allotted before March 2023.”