Centre, Tamil Nadu government have washed their hands of people’s welfare, says Stalin

The Centre and the Tamil Nadu government have washed their hands of the welfare of the people during the COVID-19 pandemic and have left people to fend for themselves, DMK president M.K. Stalin said.

“Both the governments are asking people to keep washing their hands. But the truth is that they have washed their hands of people’s welfare. There is no help for people’s health, no help for the economic distress. We have to take care of ourselves and be safe,” Mr. Stalin said, during a virtual memorial meeting for former Congress MP H. Vasanthakumar.

Mr. Stalin said the actions of the Centre and State governments have ensured that it would take many years for the country to recover economically from the pandemic.

Recalling his interactions with Mr. Vasanthakumar, Mr. Stalin said the late MLA and MP would always have a smile on his face but had now left everyone crying with his death. “His life provides everyone with lots of lessons. His life shows that self-confidence and the urge to succeed will lift a person to great heights. But now, not only his life, but his death also has given everyone lessons that we should all take necessary precautions and carry out our work while protecting ourselves,” he said.

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K.S. Alagiri said Mr. Vasanthakumar’s smiling face would always be in his memory. “When I went to Kanniyakumari for the Lok Sabha election campaign, I saw what sort of an electoral war zone he was in, where he was against the might of the BJP. But he was unperturbed about the difficulty of the fight,” he said.

VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan said Vasanthakumar was a very diligent person. “During Parliament sessions, he would prepare notes every day and come prepared for various topics. He would stay on till the session every day. His death is not only a loss for Tamil Nadu but for democracy as well,” he said.

CPI (M)’s K. Balakrishnan, R. Mutharasan of CPI, K. Veeramani of Dravidar Kazhagam, Mallai Sathya of MDMK, H. Jawahirullah of the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, K.M. Kader Moideen of the IUML, former TNCC presidents and other leaders also paid tribute to the late Mr. Vasanthakumar.