Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi, who used to list even the minor of crimes happening in the State, somehow had been remaining silent over a huge scam, said to be Rs.2 lakh crore, where natural resources were plundered like never before, said Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S. Ramadoss.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, he said that a scam which had ruined Tamil Nadu’s economy had not been condemned by the DMK leadership at all. Since there was a suspicion that Ministers, former Ministers, MLAs, former MLAs, and government officers sympathetic to both the Dravidian parties were involved in the scam, a CBI inquiry must be conducted to nab the real culprits.
The PMK had been organising protests demanding total prohibition in the State ever since the party was founded in July, 1989. On October 2 the same year, the first protest demanding prohibition was organised by the PMK women’s wing. Since then the PMK had organised a series of protests but both the Dravidian parties never paid heed to them.
“We are placing a demand that the State government should go for total prohibition on October 2 and if it is not announced, our party will stage protests across the State and will lock all the IMFL retail outlets on December 17,” said Dr. Ramadoss. He also demanded that both the DMK and AIADMK must announce their stand on abolition of liquor.
That total prohibition would lead to production of illicit arrack was a baseless argument. The PMK had submitted alternative measures (Tamilaga Arasukkana Maatru Madhu Ozhippu Kolgai) to bring in total prohibition.
He demanded that the backlog vacancies in Other Backward Classes reservation for posts in Central government jobs should be filled immediately. He condemned the move to sell five per cent of shares of Neyveli Lignite Corporation to generate Rs.700 crore and said that it would affect the livelihood of permanent workers there. He demanded that Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption sleuths should investigate the corruption charges of Madurai Corporation, said to be going on for two years. The Centre had been betraying interests of Tamil Nadu in the Cauvery river water issue. It should make Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal function.
PMK president G.K. Mani, general secretary Vadivel Ravanan and State vice-president Senthilvel Thevar were present.
