AIADMK MLA fights his way to hold ‘bhoomi puja’ for Centre-funded road project in Krishnagiri

COIMBATORE: AIADMK cadre led by the party’s deputy general secretary and Veppanapalli MLA KP Munusamy on Wednesday staged a road blockade against DMK workers for opposing them from conducting a ‘bhoomi puja’ ceremony for the launch of a central government funded road development project.

Even as the AIADMK leader and local MLA Munusamy insisted that the party would lay the foundation stone for the road project initiated under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme, a funding initiated for improving connectivity in rural areas, DMK workers opposed it.

The cadre from the ruling party objected that the road was being built under the central government funding and not the MLALAD scheme meant for MLAs. They claimed that Munusamy had no right to launch it.

Munusamy and his supporters refused to oblige and blocked the road till their demand to conduct bhoomi puja was accepted.

Also Read: Blocking local MLA from govt event violates traditions: EPS slams DMK

The issue over building two new road projects in Ramanthotti village in Veppanapalli assembly constituency in Krishnagiri district became a battleground between the two Dravidian majors as the DMK workers led by Shoolagiri North Union DMK secretary Nagesh and Munusamy and his supporters were involved in an altercation.

The AIADMK's sit-in protest on the Veppanapalli-Berigai Road near Ramanthotti gate blocked the road for hours as two more AIADMK MLAs Ashok Kumar (Krishnagiri) and Tamil Selvam (Uthangarai) also joined the protest.

After much persuasion, they finally withdrew their protest, easing traffic disruption, which was held up for more than four hours. The Munusami-led team finally had the last laugh, laying the foundation for the road project, after the DMK cadre dispersed.

The AIADMK senior leader slammed the ruling party for their opposition. “The DMK has forgotten that elections will be held every five years. They will have to meet people for votes. Such issues will impact elections,” he said to the media.

The AIADMK leader said in a democratic polity, the government administration should stand by the elected representative, irrespective of the party he represents. “As an MLA, I have been implementing various projects over the last three years. The DMK members tried to stoke violence. But we maintained our composure and resorted to a peaceful protest,” he said.