Uproar over Bridjo’s death in House

Food Minister R Kamaraj conceded that there was some deficiency in the Public Distribution System delivery in the state, of late.

Intervening during the budget debate in the House this morning, Kamaraj said the special PDS, which includes distribution of pulses and palm oil, must be extended every three or six months. 

“Extension given to special PDS last time had expired in December 2016. There was some slackness in following it up,” Kamaraj told the Assembly, attributing the deficiency to processing delay. He had last week blamed former chief minister and rebel AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam for the extension and tendering delay. 

Minister Kamaraj was responding to Opposition DMK MLA Sengottuvan from Krishnagiri, who, participating in the budget debate in the House, alleged that the government had floated tenders only after their working president M K Stalin had called for statewide protests to draw the attention of the government towards deficiency in supply of products, mainly palm oil and cereals. 

Curiously, the minister’s admission even shocked a few in the Opposition, who were largely used to seeing ministers rebut even the mildest criticism besides getting them expunged by the Speaker during the last six years. 

Picking holes in budgetary allocation for food department, Sengottuvan wondered where would the state, which had only allocated Rs 5,500 crore for PDS, source funds from when it required around Rs 8,000 crore. 

Assuring that the government would not disturb any ongoing scheme, the minister said the regime would continue free rice and other schemes through PDS the same way it did in the past when subsidies were cut by the Centre way back in 2012.

A six-member team of fishermen from Rameswaram left for New Delhi, to hold talks with External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj.

The team was invited for talks by the Centre after fishermen associations and NGOs staged protest for six days condemning the killing of K Bridjo(21), a fisherman from Thangachimadam near Rameswaram. On the sixth day Union Ministers, Nirmala Sithraman, and Pon Radhakrishnan, met the protesters at Thangachimadam and consoled the kin of Bridjo. They also held talks with the fishermen leaders and assured to arrange a meeting with the Secretary of External Affairs Ministry. Following the assurance, the protest was withdrawn. As promised by the Union Ministers steps were taken to meet The Secretary of MEA, but in the meantime Sushma Swaraj had given appointment to meet the fishermen leaders. As informed a six-member team from Rameswaram left for Delhi on Monday and would be meeting the External Affairs Minister on Tuesday. The six member team included Devadas, Jesuraja, Arulandham, Alphonse, Simon and Justin. Speaking to DTNext , Devadas, claimed that the talks with Minister has been scheduled at 11 am on Tuesday.