The fight in Madurai Lok Sabha constituency is between the AIADMK and the CPI(M) (DMK alliance), says AIADMK candidate P. Saravanan.
A doctor by profession, Dr. Saravanan calls sitting MP and CPI(M) candidate Su. Venkatesan X politician looking for fame in social media, while interacting with The Hindu on Tuesday.
Mr. Venkatesan has not done anything for the development of the Madurai constituency, but for taking credit for good works of others, he charges.
Mr. Saravanan, a former MLA of the DMK, was elected from Tirupparankundram assembly segment on DMK ticket in the 2019 by-election. Though the stint as an MLA was for a short period, he says that the people of Tirupparankundram constituency remember various works carried out by him for the welfare of the people.
Highlighting his achievements as an MLA, he says that being a doctor he prioritised and provided healthcare assistance to the people. He has conducted surgeries to the needy people and distributed artificial limbs to differently abled people through a charitable trust run by him.
When the area was reeling under a severe water crisis, he supplied water to the households, particularly the rural pockets, through tanker lorries. “People of Tirupparankundram constituency still fondly recall my contributions,” he says.
“Mr. Venkatesan has failed to fulfil the promises made by him during the 2019 polls, including waiver of education loans. While he claims that he has achieved success in implementing them, he hasn’t even fully utilised the MP funds for the welfare of the people.”
“We normally associate communists with leading a simple life and who put the welfare of the people first. However, Mr. Venkatesan has hardly used the MP funds for the welfare of the people. While in Coimbatore, Mr. P.R. Natarajan of the CPI(M) has utilised the funds for the welfare of the people, it has not been the case in Madurai. Of the ₹17 crore MP funds allocated, he has spent only ₹5 crore”, he charges.
He says that under the DMK-led State government, the State was facing law and order issues and drug abuse was on the rise. The DMK keeps claiming that it is working for the welfare of the minorities. However, in Madurai, we have received complaints from the people about lack of basic amenities in their areas.
To address the grievances of the people, he says that they have come up with an election manifesto that focuses on the constituency. Listing them out, he says the focus will be on agriculture, GI tag for appalam made in Madurai, export centre, technology parks, industrial corridor, roads and railway projects, establishment of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research and the Madurai Airport expansion project.
He says that he is confident of winning the Lok Sabha election with a good margin.
When asked about the pending case against him over the use of expired stents, he says that it is a politically manipulated case and there was no expiry of stents.
When asked about his shifting to different parties frequently, he says political ideology was there only at the time of the late Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai.
“Now, that political parties of different ideologies are forming alliance means there is no ideology. My principle in life is to help the people, like MGR,” he says.
