KARUR: Infighting in the ruling AIADMK's Karur district unit has come to the fore, with former Transport minister and Aravakkurichy assembly MLA, Mr V. Senthil Balaji alleging that party’s Karur district secretary and State Transport minister M.R. Viayabaskar and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Dr M Thambidurai, elected from Karur, were stalling the opening of a new Government medical college at Vangal near here and shifting it to some other location. Mr. Balaji had proposed the college when he was Transport minister in the earlier AIADMK regime.
Mr Senthil Balaji claimed as a result of his efforts, former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa had sanctioned a new medical college at Karur on August 12, 2014. Following this, efforts were made to locate the college on a 25-acre site received as donation at Vangal Kuppuchipalayam village near Karur.
Subsequently, the location of the college was shifted to Kolanthanur and then Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa had laid the foundation stone through video conferencing on March 1, 2016. The change of the location was legally challenged and following this, the commencement of the medical college had got delayed, said Mr Balaji.
Meanwhile, the villagers of the Vangal Kuppuchipalayam had attempted to undertake a day's fast on March 29, 2016, condemning the authorities for not commencing the medical college works even after the foundation stone was laid and also demanding that the medical college be located in their village only. But that protest was of no avail.
Mr Senthil Balaji has now sought the Karur SP's permission to undertake a day's fasting in front of the taluk office at Karur on April 28, to highlight the people's demand on this issue. But the police nod for his fast is yet to be given.
