CM bars MLAs, ministers from foreign trips till Assembly polls

CHENNAI: With the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections scheduled for next year, Chief Minister MK Stalin has issued a strict directive to all DMK ministers, MLAs, and district secretaries prohibiting foreign travel until the completion of the polls.

Only ministers undertaking official foreign visits related to their departments will be permitted to travel abroad -- and that too with prior approval from the party leadership. Others must focus entirely on fieldwork, Stalin has emphasised.

According to party insiders, Stalin’s decision comes amid a comprehensive internal review of the DMK’s grassroots preparedness. For the past several weeks, the CM has been conducting one-on-one interactions with constituency-level administrators under the ‘Varu Sagodharargale’ campaign at Anna Arivalayam in Chennai. He has so far met more than 150 constituency in-charges as part of strengthening the party’s electoral machinery.

DMK sources revealed that while the state government has rolled out numerous welfare schemes over the past four and a half years, many of these have not been effectively communicated to the public. “The surveys indicate that the people’s connection with the DMK has weakened because MLAs and local administrators have not been actively engaging with them,” a senior functionary admitted.

The chief minister is also said to be concerned that several ministers and legislators have become distanced from cadres and the public.