Women pour out woes to M K Stalin at grama sabha

Thanjavur: Women, who attended the grama sabha meeting organised by the DMK at Mathakottai village near here and presided over by party president M.K. Stalin, by and large appealed to the leader to implement prohibition in the state if the DMK party is voted to power.

"I lost my son to arrack. Don't drink. I appeal to you (Stalin) to shut Tasmac shops when you come to power," pleaded a woman from Guruvadipatti village, speaking at the grama sabha meeting.

Several other women who subsequently spoke in the meeting, sought total prohibition in the state. Many women wanted Stalin to stop the installation of the Geo telecommunication tower at Mathakottai village and near Orathanadu. Work is going on a war footing with respect to the Geo tower.

"We opposed it and gave petitions also. But instead of supporting us, police is protecting the workers involved in the construction of the tower," they rued.

Many said that they would join the DMK if the Geo tower was removed from the place. They also complained that Gaja cyclone relief was not distributed to all. "Relief is provided in a partisan manner. There are 500 families in Guruvadipatti. But only 100 families got the relief," the women said.

Stalin replied that the DMK had raised the Gaja cyclone relief issue in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. But the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapadi K. Palaniswami and ministers replied that Gaja cyclone relief had been given to all people.

"They repeatedly uttered this lie, while people like you are complaining that relief had not reached you all," Stalin said.

In his concluding remarks, Stalin said that though former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa is politically an opponent and does not subsribe to the ideologies followed by the DMK, she remained the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, and the mystery surrounding her death should be removed.

"We have been demanding a CBI enquiry. But I assure you that whoever responsible or found guilty with respect to the death of Jayalalithaa, be it EPS, OPS, Dhinakaran or Sasikala, will be put behind the bars if found guilty, when the DMK comes to power," declared Stalin.

The meeting which is supposed to have been started by 2.30 pm started only by 6 pm. Sitting under a huge banyan tree, Stalin conducted the meeting, well attended by women. In his introductory remarks, he said that the grama sabha is conducted by DMK to reach out to people and convince them to throw away the corrupt state government and despotic Central government.

Many women sang songs in praise of Stalin forcing onlookers to think whether it is a grama sabha meeting or a party meeting.

People from Mathakottai, Nanjikottai and Guruvadipatti villages participated in the meeting.