Ex-AIADMK Minister Sellur K Raju faces ire over comments on Indian soldiers

CHENNAI: Former AIADMK minister Sellur K Raju, infamous for his idea of floating thermocol sheets in the Vaigai dam to prevent evaporation, has again found himself in the middle of controversy after he made some unsavoury remarks about the Indian soldiers.

He recently remarked that not soldiers but the devices they used fought the wars. Offended by this, Thiruchelvam, the president of the Tri-Services Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association in Karaikudi issued a press release stating that Sellur Raju’s recent remarks about soldiers have caused a huge uproar among ex-servicemen across Tamil Nadu.

“While people have not forgotten his great thermocol ideas, he has once again brought himself down by making a very “wise” comment,” he wrote.

“Even if the Prime Minister and the relevant ministers buy what the officers recommend for the army, will they work automatically? He is naive and unaware that during attacks by enemies, the soldiers destroy fights to protect their country, sacrificing their lives. As Sellur Raju says, is it enough to give weapons? If those machines can operate without human intervention and win the war, why not disband the army?” the statement said.

“Sellur Raju, by commenting on matters he cannot understand, is not just hurting himself and his family but also offending the soldiers who protect this country and its people. We request that a former state minister not create situations which turns into a mockery. We strongly condemn his childish behaviour,” he said.