The word “double-barrelled gun” frequently finds reference in the discourse of political parties in Tamil Nadu. Whenever two parties come together, the leaders call themselves double-barrelled gun. Now, the term seems to find more relevance in individual parties. In the past, opinion on all important issues would come from DMK leader M. Karunanidhi. Of late, party treasurer M.K. Stalin, who has constituted his own public relations team, gives his opinion separately and his views are updated on the social media. The trend is also seen in the PMK. While party founder S. Ramadoss regularly reacts to vital issues, his son and former Union Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has his own media coordinator and expresses his opinion separately.
On the day of counting for the R.K. Nagar by-elections, the feud in the AIADMK came to the fore. While party’s presidium chairman E. Madhusudhanan has for long been the calling the shots in the constituency, P. Vetrivel, the former MLA who quit his post for party supremo Jayalalithaa to contest, stole the limelight by getting the election certificate from the returning officer. According to party circles, Mr. Vetrivel belongs to the camp of former Speaker D. Jayakumar, the undisputed leader of the party in north Chennai. During counting, there were skirmishes between the two camps.
It was mid-night change of power in Salem district. Salem Collector K. Maharabushanam was transferred on June 30 and V. Sampath, Collector, Villuppuram was his successor. Even after four days, there was no word when the new Collector will assume charge. Revenue officials were in for a big surprise when Mr. Sampath took charge all of sudden at 11 p.m. on July 4. Assuming charge as Collector late at night was something unusual, revenue officials said.
Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, MP, and PMK’s Chief Ministerial candidate, is leaving no stone unturned to attract the attention of the people. A couple of weeks ago, he with party workers was found pushing a government bus, which had suffered breakdown while touring Krishnagiri constituency.
Again last week, when he was arriving at the venue to lead a demonstration of the party cadre to press for implementation of total prohibition in Tamil Nadu in front of the Collectorate in Salem city, he spotted an ambulance caught in a traffic jam caused by vehicles carrying party workers. He stopped his vehicle, directed local leaders to clear vehicles and ensured the ambulance moved past without any further delay.
(Reporting by B. Kolappan, Aloysius Xavier Lopez and Syed Muthahar Saqaf)
