Alleging that the ruling DMK government’s lax attitude has led to the deaths of 58 persons in the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy, AIADMK general secretary and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday, June 24, 2024 demanded that Chief Minister M. K. Stalin take responsibility and step down for his gross failure in preventing the manufacture and supply of spurious liquor .
Leading the party’s demonstration at Kallakurichi, Mr. Palaniswami said the lives of innocent victims could have been saved had the government taken firm action in advance. “Both the government and the law enforcement authorities were aware of the sale of spurious liquor. The hooch was being brewed without any hindrance near the police station in town, and this only exposed the shameful state of this government.,” he charged.
Mr. Palaniswami said the locals of Karunapuram had informed him during his visit to the locality that several bigwigs in the ruling DMK in town were involved in the sale of spurious liquor. “This government considers the lives of the poor and Dalits who died in the tragedy, insignificant,” he alleged.
Mr. Palaniswami said the Chief Minister had gone on record during meetings with police officers that swift action would be taken if there were any complaints regarding the manufacture and sale of spurious liquor. The AIADMK MLA from Kallakurichi had tried to move a calling attention motion in the Assembly regarding this issue. However, the motion was not taken up for discussion, he said.
The MLA had even alerted then Superintendent of Police Samay Singh Meena, a few days before the tragedy regarding the rampant sale of spurious liquor in several areas in the town, he claimed. However, no action was taken resulting in the deaths. Persons who had the backing of the ruling party were engaged in the manufacture of the brew, which had resulted in the loss of so many innocent lives, he said.
Mr. Palaniswami said then Collector Sravan Kumar Jatavath (since transferred) had tried to suppress information regarding the deaths of three persons after the consumption of spurious liquor on June 19. Had the official presented the real picture then, so many lives would not have been lost. It was only due to the former Collector’s falsehoods that several victims who had consumed the poisonous brew did not visit hospitals to get immediate medical treatment resulting in their deaths. The loss of lives shows the administrative incompetence of the DMK government, he said.
Mr. Palaniswami said after the hooch tragedy in Villupuram and Chengalpattu districts in which 22 persons had died last year, “I warned the government about the production and sale of spurious liquor in the State and urged the Chief Minister to curb the menace with an iron hand. However, the government failed to do so.”
The AIADMK leader said the probe by the CB-CID would not bring out the truth. The State government should hand over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and it should extend full cooperation to the probe, he added.
Why is DMK reluctant to order a CBI probe asks K.A. Sengottaiyan in Erode
Former AIADMK Minister and Gobichettipalayam MLA K.A. Sengottaiyan on Monday, June 24, 2024, asked why the DMK government had failed to take action to prevent the hooch tragedy in Kallakurichi despite knowing that illicit liquor was being sold across the State.
Erode, Tamil Nadu, 24/06/2024: AIADMK cadre staging a demonstration condemning the DMK government for failing to curb the sale of illicit liquor in Erode in Tamil Nadu on Monday. Photo: Govarthan M / The Hindu | Photo Credit: GOVARTHAN M
Addressing media persons on the sidelines of a demonstration organised by the party, he said this hooch tragedy was the second in the State in the past two years, resulting in the loss of dozens of lives.
“After the illicit liquor tragedy at Villupuram that claimed 22 lives, the government should have taken effective steps to prevent such incidents in the future. But they failed,” he said and asked, “What is Chief Minister M.K. Stalin going to say and what steps is he going to take to prevent further such tragedies?”
The AIADMK leader said that even though parties in the DMK alliance have pressed for a CBI investigation, the DMK government is reluctant to order one. Why is this, he asked.
AIAMDK cadre raised slogans urging the CM to take moral responsibility for the tragedy and demanded his resignation. Former Minister and Bhavani MLA K.C. Karuppannan and former MLA K.V. Ramalingam also took part.
Former Higher Education Minister leads protest in Dharmapuri
The AIADMK protests against the DMK government over the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy were led by former Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbalagan outside the Collectorate in Dharmapuri.
The former Minister and Palacode MLA K.P. Anbalagan led the protesters who condemned the failure of the government in cracking down on illicit liquor, and also demanded that the government hand over the probe into the deaths to the CBI.
The AIADMK has been vociferous in its demand for the CBI probe slamming that the DMK was complicit with omissions leading to the deaths.
The protesters raised slogans against Chief Minister MK Stalin calling for his immediate resignation.
In Krishnagiri, the AIADMK protests were led by the zonal district secretaries along with the deputy general secretary of the party and the Vepanapalli MLA K.P. Munusamy.
Mr. Munusamy slammed the government for its “inaction” against illicit liquor that was claiming lives across the State. Alleging complicity of the DMK in the illicit liquor trade, Mr. Munusamy reiterated the party’s demand for a CBI probe.
Former Krishnagiri MP Ashok Kumar and former Minister for sports and youth affairs Balakrishna Reddy led the protests.
What happened to last year’s CB-CID report, asks former Minister S. Semmalai
In Salem, the protest was held at Fort Maidan and former Minister S. Semmalai presided. The AIADMK cadres had brought a mini truck to Fort Maidan for AIADMK functionaries to address adres. But the police did not allow it, and seized it. This led to a verbal duel between the police and AIADMK cadres. The AIADMK cadres raised slogans against the city police. The police forcibly removed some cadres from the locality.
Speaking at the protest, Mr. Semmalai said that the police should not do what the ruling party asks them to do. Before coming to power, Mr. Stalin had said that he would reduce the number of Tasmac outlets. DMK MP Kanimozhi once said the number of young widows was high in Tamil Nadu and due to Kallakurichi itragedy alone, over 50 women had lost their husbands, he pointed out.
The DMK government did not allow Opposition leader, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, to speak about the tragedy in the Assembly, he claimed, and added that Mr. Palaniswami was the first political leader to visit Kallakurichi and meet the affected people.
Recalling the Marakkanam hooch tragedy in 2023, Mr. Semmalai said in that case also, the CB-CID conducted an inquiry. What steps did the government take to prevent hooch based on that report, he asked. If steps were taken then, the Kallakurichi incident might have been averted, he said. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI (M) demanded the resignation of the Railway Minister following a train accident in West Bengal. But in Tamil Nadu, the CPI (M) has not demanded the Chief Minister’s resignation, Mr. Semmalai charged.
In Namakkal district, AIADMK cadres protested at Rasipuram. Former Minister P. Thangamani presided over the protest. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Thangamani said that if police were allowed to act independently, like in the AIADMK regime, they could easily prevent the manufacture and sale hooch. Total prohibition is the principle of AIADMK and during the AIADMK regime, Tasmac outlets were closed phase by phase. But now, new shops are being opened under DMK rule, Mr. Thangamani alleged.
Former Minister S.P. Velumani reminds police that it is public tax money that funds them
Former AIADMK Minister and Thondamuthur MLA S.P. Velumani demanded a CBI probe in to the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy, while leading a protest in Coimbatore.
AIADMK cadre led by former Minister and Thondamuthur MLA S.P. Velumani staged a demonstration in Coimbatore over the hooch tragedy deaths in Kallakurichi | Photo Credit: Siva Saravanan S
Mr. Velumani claimed that though the official toll in the hooch tragedy is 58, there were reports that four more have succumbed taking the total toll to 62.
Ever since the DMK came to power, the sale of narcotic substances, hooch and gutkha items were on the rise, he alleged. Only an impartial investigation by the CBI could help bring the real culprits to book, he added.
Mr. Velumani also reminded the DMK that they had polled six per cent fewer votes compared to the previous election and when the next elections came, the AIADMK was sure of winning. He also reminded the police department that their salaries were paid from public tax money and said and instead of suppressing the AIADMK, they should focus on those peddling ganja, narcotic substances and gutkha.
He also recalled how the police functioned independently during the AIADMK rule and said this was a must to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies.
The former Minister also asked the DMK Government to stock all medicines as a lot of people were still undergoing treatment.
