Kallakurichi hooch tragedy: Allies, opposition parties demand justice for victims

CHENNAI: Allies of the ruling DMK and opposition BJP and PMK insisted that the state government deal with illicit arrack gangs with iron fist.

Opening the debate on the special calling attention motion moved in the State Assembly on the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy Friday, Congress legislature party leader K Selvaperunthagai listed out the hooch tragedies in BJP ruled states like Gujarat and said that some parties were trying to politicise the issue while it was no time for politics.

Arguing that the illicit arrack trade would not have flourished without the knowledge of the officers, Tamizhaga Valvurimai Katchi leader T Velmurugan said that some officers opposed to the Dravidian ideology were working to bring disrepute to the government.

Alleging that the officers were treating the MLAs and even ministers with indifference and taking decisions unilaterally, Velumurugan said that a SP he visited met him at 15 feet distance.

"Are we untouchables?" wondered Velumurugan, urging the state government to fix liability on all elected representatives concerned, including MLAs like him, ministers in charge and even panchayat chairman when hooch tragedies happened.

KMDK MLA E R Eswaran urged the state government to allow toddy tapping to prevent hooch tragedies.

PMK legislature party leader G K Mani demanded that the case probe be transferred to the CBI to render justice.

BJP legislature party leader Nainar Nagendran who marshalled his MLAs out of the House in protest said that he was not demanding resignation of the Chief Minister or politicising anyone, but only justice on the issue.

VCK legislature party leader Sinthanaiselvan welcomed the hasty action initiated by the CM after the tragedy and said that the government must pay attention to the relief and rehabilitation of the children of the victims of the tragedy.

CPM MLAs Nagai Maali, Thalli Ramachandran and Sadan Thirumalaikumar of MDMK also spoke.