Keeping an eye on civic polls, the bigwigs of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam have literally taken over the city and suburban roads in their control under the guise of conducting relay rallies (thodar ottam), causing much hardship to people.
In the last five days, rallies were taken out in different parts of the district and city by Revenue Minister R.B. Udayakumar and his followers, who were sporting T-shirts and track pants.
The rallies, organised during peak hours, threw traffic out of gear and caused inconvenience to the public, including school children and office-goers. The irony of it all is that the road was blocked right in front of Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court itself and traffic was channelled into a single lane, causing chaos on Saturday, advocates said.
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School children from government schools were made to walk in the rally and the programme culminated in a government school nearby where the Minister distributed welfare assistance.
In the past five days, half-a-dozen rallies have been taken out in major pockets of Madurai North, South, West, Central, East, Sholavandan, Tirupparankundram, Melur and Tirumangalam Assembly constituencies.
On Sunday, the rally passed through Palanganatham at 7 a.m. and the traffic on Tirupparankundram Road went for a toss. The arterial road, used by a large number of people, heading to the southern districts through Tirumangalam, witnessed a severe traffic snarl for a long period.
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Though the police claim that the rallies were being conducted with due permission, many wonder how the police could permit such mass gatherings on busy roads during peak hours.
It is viewed as a blatant example of the biased approach of the police. There are only seven designated spaces in the city to hold public meetings, but it is surprising how permission was given to take over roads for such a massive show of strength. Is it because the event is organised by the ruling party?” questions senior advocate Veera Kathirvan. “This is misuse of official capacity. The danger is that even ambulances may get caught in these snarls. When so many vehicles are squeezed into a single lane, there are chances of freak accidents,” he says.
Caught unawares
These rallies cause hindrance to public movement and free flow of vehicles. Office-goers and school children are caught unawares when caught in logjam. They end up reaching schools and offices late. “Even lawyers were unable to reach the courts on time when the rally was taken out near the High Court Bench. The judiciary should take note of such gross misuse of power and give a dressing down to the power that be,” said a person who was caught in the traffic snarl. “Two-wheelers formed part of the rally and none of the riders were wearing helmets,” he observed and added, “Ministers are supposed to be role models to the public but such activities will only lead to more people taking undue freedom and advantage.”
When The Hindu contacted, the Minister was unavailable for comments. The AIADMK functionaries said that only after getting permission from the police, the rallies were taken out, which did not disturb vehicular movement, they claimed.