Chennai: Equating DMK president M. Karunanidhi and his political heir M.K. Stalin to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, Mayor Saidai S. Duraisamy on Tuesday blamed the duo for encroachments on Adyar and Cooum rivers.
After the DMK announced that it will protest on January 5 demanding to know the ‘real reasons’ behind Chennai floods, Duraisamy, addressing the corporation council, said he had a “responsibility to answer the allegations” especially as the DMK wants an inquiry commission to probe the floods.
“In 1967, when Karunanidhi was the PWD minister, he brought in hundreds of coolies from Thiruvarur district under the guise of cleaning up Cooum and allowed them to settle along the river. In fact, Karunanidhi's opponent in the 1971 elections, Congress' Kulandai Ramalingam, had claimed that the DMK captured power after vote rigging with the help of the resettled families,” said Duraisamy.
“But now, like two Goebbels turning sand to rope, Karunanidhi and Stalin are attempting to blame the government for a disaster caused by very heavy rainfall,” he added. At this point, coming nearly an hour after the session began at 2.30 pm, the DMK Councillors, whose requests for an opportunity to speak was turned down, interrupted the session. An unusually calm Mayor then told the DMK men that each one of them would be allowed time to counter his points. However, the AIADMK Councillors had joined in the me-lee by then and a minor kerfuffle ensued resulting in the DMK councillors getting evicted from the floor.
Continuing to train his guns on DMK, Duraisamy took offence that a few news outlets had claimed that the Mayor was missing when the rainy season started unfolding.
“Stalin's son-in-law Sabareesan used social media platforms to circulate false news and rumours. Us Amma's disciples, we don't hide. We give our lives to execute her orders,” he said.
Later, he offered a rebuttal to the claim that the release of water from Chembarambakkam had caused the flooding. “Besides Chembarambakkam, 25 other tanks and reservoirs empty into the Adyar along with seven major canals outside city limits and another 10 within city,” he said.
“It is common knowledge that the PWD does not release water from reservoirs until it is 90 per cent full. After that, depending on the inflow from catchment areas, the water is released,” he added.
Duraisamy then thanked and appreciated the Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa for helping bring back normalcy in the state in as little time as possible.
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