Stalin defends I-PAC despite criticisms by dist secretaries

While the discontent among functionaries over engaging a consultant was simmering in the party ranks for a while now, the resistance came to the fore at Saturday’s meeting of district secretaries. One of the senior district secretaries of the party had red-flagged the overreach of the poll consultant.

A prominent district secretary from the State headquarters was learnt to have expressed his reservations to young members of the I-PAC giving him ‘instructions’ on political brand building. More than pointing out the unnecessary intervention of the consultant in “Ondrinaivom Vaa” campaign, the district secretary, party insiders revealed, had questioned the very partnership with the I-PAC.

The district secretary had told Stalin in no uncertain terms that they would be obedient to the leader, but not subservient to some imported consultant. Worse, the district boss was understood to have told the party chief that he was airing the apprehension of the most district secretaries. “We don’t need a consultant to make you the CM next year. We have done it in the last year’s Lok Sabha election too, without engaging external advisers,” a district secretary from the west quoted his counterpart in the State capital as telling the party chief during the video call.

Significantly, no district secretary in the video call, sources added, had cared to correct the colleague. Instead, they had only waited for the reaction of the party president, who, understandably, sidestepped the issue. District secretaries have been registering their displeasure with Stalin through their contacts during the last few months.

However, a wary Stalin, who has been allaying the fears of his district bosses occasionally, responded this time by stating during the meeting that even the chief strategist of I-PAC was spellbound by the organisational depth of the DMK. Like in the previous instances, Stalin had calmed them by reiterating that the consultant would only conduct election surveys and the district bosses would continue to call the shots as ever.

DMK president MK Stalin on Sunday cautioned the state government not to reduce the number of tests to artificially project a fall in corona cases as it would spell disaster for Tamil Nadu.

Alleging that the State government has reduced the volume of corona tests in the State by nearly 40 per cent to 8,270 on Saturday, against the 14,102 per day on May 7, Stalin said the hallmark of an honest government would be demonstrating the absence of the disease spread after widely increasing the number of tests and attempting to do it without conducting tests would only spell disaster. “Do not fudge corona records, like you normally do with contracts, to deceive people, and commit a historic blunder,” he cautioned.

Asking if the tests were reduced for want of RTPCR or rapid testing kits, Stalin advised the government to increase testing and release district-wise break up of tests done. There could not be a worse betrayal of people than the government gradually reducing tests to project an artificial decline in the cases in the State, and that too when it was struggling to contain the spread in the State capital.

Drawing a parallel between the government’s handling of operations at Koyambedu vegetable market earlier and now in Tasmac, he said the government has opened other shops to keep Tasmac liquor shops open and reduced the number of tests to project as if there was no virus spread in the State.