COIMBATORE: Revenue and Disaster Management Minister KA Sengottaiyan on Friday brushed aside BJP state unit chief Nainar Nagenthran's challenge to prove that he really tried to secure permission to open a medical college, claiming that it was a matter of public knowledge.
Speaking to the media in Erode, Sengottaiyan didn't yield to the challenge to quit the minister post over the charges. "It is a matter of public knowledge that Nainar Nagenthran had applied to establish a medical college. Even if he tries to hide the truth, it cannot be hidden," Sengottaiyan said, without releasing any proof on the charges he had made.
The minister also accused Nagenthran of directing his criticism at the wrong political party. "He should criticise the DMK, not the TVK. The BJP must introspect on why its vote share has declined from 11 per cent to 4 per cent and who is responsible for that fall," he said.
Responding to criticism that Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay did not speak during the Governor's Address in the Assembly, Sengottaiyan said the Chief Minister had responded during the debate on the Governor's address, alleging that opposition members walked out while he was speaking.
The minister also said former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran ushered in political change in Tamil Nadu in 1977 on an anti-corruption platform, followed by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in 1991. He claimed that Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay had now brought about the change that people were seeking.