Annamalai targets DMK over AIIMS delay

Karur, Feb 26: Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai has accused the ruling DMK government of delaying the construction of AIIMS Madurai by withholding key administrative clearances, and urged voters to back the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Addressing a public meeting in Karur, Annamalai alleged that after the DMK assumed office, it took nearly a year to grant permission for felling trees required at the project site, slowing down the progress of the long-awaited medical institution. He claimed that the State government neither executes projects efficiently nor allows others to implement them smoothly.
“The delay of nearly one year in granting tree-felling permission stalled the construction work. The ruling party is creating obstacles instead of facilitating development,” he said.
Calling the Assembly polls an opportunity for political change, Annamalai appealed to the electorate to support the NDA and vote to make Edappadi K. Palaniswami the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu’s 234-member Assembly is set to go to the polls later this year. In the 2021 elections, the DMK led by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin secured 133 seats, while the AIADMK won 66 seats.
The political scenario has since shifted, with the DMDK joining the DMK-led alliance. The AIADMK and BJP are leading the NDA in the State, aiming to unseat the ruling DMK-Congress alliance. The contest is expected to be triangular after actor-turned-politician Vijay launched his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), and signalled his intent to emerge as a major player.