Chennai, Sept 9:
Tamil Nadu Energy Resources and Law Minister C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar on Wednesday launched a broadside against the DMK, accusing the previous government of allowing “power brokers” and people close to the ruling family to influence administration.
He said Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay was working to overhaul what he described as a “rotten system.” Nirmal Kumar was speaking to reporters after visiting CPI general secretary D. Raja, who is undergoing a health check-up at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
Defending the government’s decision to highlight alleged failures of the previous DMK regime, Nirmal Kumar said people must know what went wrong and how the present government was attempting to correct it. Citing the Cauvery issue, he said it had taken nearly four decades to recover what had been “lost”, while mistakes allegedly committed during the previous five years also needed to be explained to the present generation.
He questioned what a “three-generation” and “70-year-old party” had done for the people, saying the government had a responsibility to explain how departments were allegedly weakened and what needed to be recovered. He also returned to Katchatheevu, alleging that the DMK failed to prevent its ceding to Sri Lanka despite the political pressure surrounding the Sarkaria Commission and a possible CBI case. He claimed information relating to the issue was not properly placed before the public when the case came up in 1976 and alleged that former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi knew about it earlier. Had it been prevented, he said, fishermen would not have suffered for five decades.
Nirmal Kumar launched his strongest attack while speaking about Rattheesh, whom he described as a “power broker” close to the previous ruling establishment. He said the government should be run by the Chief Minister, ministers, MLAs and officials, and not by private individuals or friends of the Chief Minister’s son.
He alleged that Rattheesh was in a position to meet officials, receive grievances and divide them among people who allegedly collected money. Claiming that Rattheesh had no knowledge of politics or people’s concerns, the minister alleged that people close to the former Chief Minister’s son and son-in-law had exercised influence over the administration.
He further accused the previous government of using people such as Rattheesh as intermediaries for collections in TASMAC and other departments. He claimed Rattheesh had spent considerable time with Udhayanidhi Stalin at Kurinji Illam and questioned how the government could remain silent if a person allegedly acting as a power broker was involved in collections in four or five departments.
The minister said an FIR had already been registered and a lookout notice issued against Rattheesh, with police following due procedure after issuing a notice. He said the present government would not resort to midnight arrests or “mysterious” actions. Referring to the Anna Nagar Ramesh case, he said people might have forgotten such incidents but needed to know how the previous administration allegedly functioned.
Nirmal Kumar said the TVK government was giving the administration “new life” by fundamentally changing the existing system. Comparing the previous system to a rotten tree, he said the government was cutting it down and growing a new plant from the roots.
He claimed Vijay was personally monitoring the administration and working every day to deliver what people needed. Despite attempts to create difficulties for the government, he said, the administration would continue with its reform agenda.