AIADMK failed to expose govt on flood relief, feel cadre

CHENNAI: Did the AIADMK play its role as a principal opposition party and reach out to the people in distress during cyclonic storm Michaung? Party spokesperson and former minister D Jayakumar said a firm “yes,” while party insiders felt they were “half-successful” in their attempt.

Jayakumar said the party functionaries were on the field as per the direction of party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and helped many people in water logged areas. He, however, said that network issues due to the cyclonic storm “delayed” their response in certain pockets. Meanwhile, party insiders and functionaries felt that they missed an opportunity to “score a political mileage” and prove a point that “we are with the people, even when not in power.”

When rain pummeled Chennai and neighbouring districts, Palaniswami formed 18 rapid response teams by roping in members of the party’s social and IT wing to help the people in distress. “Since the networks were down, the purpose of forming the teams did not pay off much. But, we have managed to reach out to several people in T Nagar and a few other locations by supplying milk sachets and water bottles,” said a member of the team.

He, however, admitted that they were “unable to help the people in affected areas to make use of the opportunities for our advantage,” and their efforts paid “only 30% to 40%.”

“Many of the functionaries were not seen on the ground in their respective localities despite clear instruction from the leader. We were also unable to keep track of relief activities,” said a functionary privy to the party relief activities.

Though senior leader Jayakumar frequented his Royapuram constituency and water logged areas in Velachery and other areas from day one of the cyclonic storm, the absence of party leader Palaniswami on the first two days of the cyclone did not help them much.

After paying tribute to the late party supremo and former chief minister J Jayalalithaa on December 5, Palaniswami along with senior leaders visited water logged areas in and around T Nagar and distributed relief materials. However, he was missing from the thick of action in the state capital for the next two days. Returning from his hometown Salem, Palaniswami visited affected areas on December 8 and 9 in Royapuram and other areas.

It is all about “creating optics” in the game of politics, the AIADMK leadership focused on cornering the ruling party’s mismanagement of the cyclone situation and not focused much on extending relief measures, said an AIADMK sympathiser, seeking anonymity.

“At the time of natural calamities and disasters, a political party and its leader should be hyperactive and help the people in the affected areas. Being not in power, the AIADMK should have acted immediately to help the people to earn their good will and build on it ahead of the (LS) polls. They did not make use of it,” he further said.

“Neither the ruling party nor the opposition helped us during the distress time. We struggled for a bottle of drinking water,” said Bharath, a native of Puliyanthope in North Chennai. Echoing the same, a woman in Boja Raja Nagar near Pencil Factory in Korukkupet said, “Even the AIADMK men have not come to our area to distribute any relief measures. It is understandable as they did not win this time.”

Similar views were expressed in many areas in South Chennai too. “None came forward to help,” said a resident of Saligramam and noted that his friends and colleagues staying in Velachery expressed the same and noted that the political parties were busy blaming each other instead of focusing on supporting the people to return to normalcy.