CHENNAI: If anything, the Chief Minister Mr. Eadppadi K Palaniswami's foreign tour to attract more FDI for Tamil Nadu, has spurred more of his Cabinet colleagues to plan their own individual jaunts abroad, all for good departmental reasons.
While Mr. Palanaiswami's cabinet colleague Health minister, C Vijayabhaskar has already joined him on the first leg of his foreign tour to UK, three other ministers- Industries minister, M C Sampath, Revenue and IT minister, R.B. Udayakumar and Dairy Development minister Rajenthra Bhalaji, will be joining the Chief Minister during the latter part of the tour at various places.
State Information minister Kadambur Raju has left for Mauritius carrying a statue of MGR to be installed there in September, even as it is expected that the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. O. Panneerselvam would also go to Mauritius next month to unveil the statue of AIADMK's founder-leader and former Chief Minister, MGR.
Not to be left behind, another AIADMK senior and School Education minister, K A Sengottaiyan, has left for Finland to study the primary education systems there. Animal Husbandry minister, Udumalai K Radhakrishnan is also planning an overseas trip to Australia and New Zealand to study new techniques of cattle breeding and other related issues under the purview of his department.
To top it all, Forest minister Mr Dindigul Srinivasan, left here on Thursday afternoon for an official tour of Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. The minister, accompanied by top Forest department officials, will be interacting with their counterparts in those countries to bring best practices and techniques for a host of initiatives in Tamil Nadu, an official release said.
These included operationalising a 'Night Safari' at the Vandalur Zoo, development of sanctuaries, exploring possibilities of bringing in tree species that will sync with the eco-climate zones of Tamil Nadu, and learn about new techniques to control and avert forest fires.
Observers say that to study forest fires, going to South America or Africa would have been ideal. Africa in particular, where the forests are protected, preserved and appropriately enhanced for eco-tourism, bringing huge tourist revenues to those countries. But the Forest minister has instead preferred to travel to some South-East Asian countries.
Senior DMK functionary and former MP, T K S Elangovan, termed the flurry of foreign visits by AIADMK ministers now as a reflection of the post-Jayalalithaa era. “Like students in a class without a headmistress behaving in their own sweet way, saying things and doing things as they like, the ministers are enjoying their new found freedom when Jayalalithaa is not there,” quipped Elangovan. The Chief Minister is also not able to do anything about these things to keep his own position safe and secure, Mr. Elangovan opined.
