DMK president M.K. Stalin on Thursday said he undertook foreign trips when he was the Deputy Chief Minister to secure funding for the Metro Rail and water projects in the State, and not to attract (random) investments.
Speaking at a marriage ceremony, he urged the people to give their children Tamil names. “We went to foreign countries. The [then] Chief Minister [M. Karunanidhi] did not go. I went [abroad] in the capacity of the Deputy Chief Minister and the Local Administration Minister. And I did not go [abroad] to attract investments. I took a few officials with me to Japan to get funding for the Metro Rail and water projects in Ramanathapuram and Hogenakkal. We even got that funding,” Mr. Stalin said.
He reiterated his allegation that Ministers in the current government were undertaking foreign trips like “Tourism Ministers”.
“They want to travel across the world as they will be in power only for the next one-and-a-half years. If that is the case, they should term their tours personal visits. If the trips are for attracting investments, they should disclose the details of the investments,” the DMK leader said.
He claimed that under the erstwhile DMK rule, investments were attracted to various places, from Ambattur to Sriperumbudur.
“When Karunanidhi was the Chief Minister, he and his Ministers did not go abroad to attract investments. Considering the strengths of the State and his governance, they [investors] came and invested here,” Mr. Stalin said.
His statement comes a day after CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami questioned the achievements of the DMK when it was in power.
