AIADMK ready for polls: Sellur Raju

The AIADMK is ready for elections and those who claim that the ruling party is not willing to contest the local body elections should understand that the party won the 2016 Assembly elections and 37 seats in the last Lok Sabha polls as the single largest party without any allies, Minister for Cooperation Sellur K Raju said on Tuesday. 

Responding to the DMK’s allegation that the ruling party is scared to conduct the civic polls, minister Sellur Raju said the AIADMK recently succeeded in conducting the polls to co-operative societies. 

In 2008, then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had annulled the co-operatives society elections due to law and order issues, whereas the current government led by Edappadi K Palaniswami has successfully conducted the first phase of union elections. 

There were some issues and litigation filed against these polls, but by and large the co-operative society polls had been peaceful and the second phase of polls will be conducted shortly, the minister said.

The media too is blaming the government for the delay in the local body polls, but the fact is that the party is ready to face the civic polls, he said. The minister, however, evaded a direct question on whether the State has lost revenue of Rs 3,500 crore from the Centre usually sanctioned to the State local bodies under various central schemes. 

Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu have been demanding early elections for the local bodies in the State, which were due in October 2016. The Madras High Court, hearing a contempt petition, has directed the State to submit a report on delimitation and an update on the pending polls.

Earlier in the day, the minister conducted a review meeting with the State cooperative department officials to enquire about the status of the Rs 8,000 crore sanctioned by the State earmarked for loans for farmers. 

Sellur Raju also said the 282 Amma pharmacies in the State have sold medicines and drugs worth Rs 699 crore providing 20 per cent discount for the public.