Tamil Nadu Cooperatives Minister Sellur Raju, infamous for his 'thermacol experiment', has stoked controversy once again. Addressing members of the AIADMK in Madurai, the Minister has claimed that they can avail government benefits only if they have the party membership card.
The AIADMK card is like our life. Every party worker must get the card. Only if you have this card, you or your family will get help from the government. If you want help from the government you can only do it if you have this card.Sellur Raju, Tamil Nadu Cooperatives Minister.
The remark has outraged many on social media, and several have questioned the high handedness of the government.
"The minister did not mean that others won't get benefits. The message is being misconstrued," defended AIADMK spokesperson KP Palaniswami.
But that has done little to assuage the opposition. DMK MLA TRB Raja took to Twitter to vent his frustration and ask:
A minister in the TN government says that only people with ADMK membership cards will get help from Tamil Nadu government. Is this how a democracy works?
Sellur Raju shot to fame after his decision to float thermocol sheets at the Vaigai Dam in Madurai to prevent loss of water to evaporation in April last year.
The minister had said that as the region is experiencing one of the worst droughts in 142 years, every attempt is being made to conserve water.
He had claimed that the method of using thermocol sheets to reduce evaporation has been tried in foreign countries and private water bodies. To make matters worse, he said Rs 10 lakh had apparently been set aside for the project.
The colossal 'waste of money' caused huge uproar in the state at a time when the AIADMK leadership was already experiencing several divisions within its ranks.
(This article has been published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)