Chennai: DMK working president M.K. Stalin on Tuesday postponed his monthlong statewide tour against the “anti-people, horse-trading AIADMK government” similar to his Namakku Naame road show ahead of the 2016 Assembly elections citing monsoon rains lashing the state.
Stalin, who had earlier announced that he would launch the tour to expose the EPS-OPS government on various fronts in the first week of November, said in a statement on Tuesday that he has decided to postpone his programmee after taking into account the sufferings of people due to the government's failure to take precautionary measures.
“The northeast monsoon has intensified bringing rains to Tamil Nadu at a time party cadre have been preparing for the state-wide tour. People in Chennai, its suburbs and those living in coastal districts have been suffering due to the ill preparedness of the government. The government has not been able to handle situation arising out of just a day's rain,” Stalin said in a statement.
He also used the occasion to tear into the EPS-OPS Government and accused it of turning blind eye to the sufferings of the people and their “callous attitude” has led to people coming out of their homes due to water logging in several areas.
The leader of Opposition also asked party cadres to involve themselves in helping those affected by the rains.
“The statewide tour aimed at removing the inept administration will be held at a later date. I will meet all of you then,” Stalin told DMK cadres. DMK sources said the statewide tour was planned on the lines of the Namakku Naame tour which the party feels was one of the reasons for its impressive performance in the assembly elections though it failed to snatch power from the AIADMK then led by J. Jayalalithaa.
Namakku Naame, the statewide tour that Stalin undertook in phases for almost six months during 2015 and 2016, established him as the DMK's future leader and helped him connect with the masses and vice-versa. So, it was decided to organise a similar programmee at a time the state is beset with problems,” a senior DMK leader said.
The programmee also coincided with Stalin's launch as a tech-savvy leader who interacted with his cadre and common people through social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, the popular video streaming site.
