Former Minister R.B. Udhayakumar has raised the question: Is the Chief Minister’s trip to London an official government visit, or a publicity trip to reinforce his influence?
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay went to London on the 10th to attract industrial investment. Although it was said that he went to London for industrial investment, former Chief Minister Edappadiyar, opposition leaders, and economists all alleged that no meetings with industrialists or any concrete investment details related to it were announced or released.
Following this, a photo, news item, and statement were hurriedly released yesterday saying that a memorandum of understanding had been signed to invest Rs. 12,000 crore in Tamil Nadu.
Photos of Chief Minister Vijay, who had gone on a six-day official visit, meeting actor Ajith at the Silverstone car race were released first. Along with that, his beloved one’s film was also released.
For a long time, Chief Minister Vijay and film actor Ajith have been acting in Tamil Nadu. Never before has there been such an outpouring of affection or closeness shown in Tamil Nadu. The affection that Chief Minister Vijay has now showered on actor Ajith does not seem entirely natural to us. The scene itself did not come across as natural either.
On the contrary, what was the need for this affectionate embrace from Chief Minister Vijay? One thing is certainly clear. Everyone is criticizing this approach as having been taken with the intention of using Ajith’s fan influence for his own politics.
Overall, there is an ongoing debate about whether there is any sincerity in this affectionate embrace, or whether it is intended to raise his own influence.
In order to attract industries and secure investments, the fact that the Industries Minister did not accompany the Chief Minister, while the Sports Minister Adhav Arjuna and close associates went instead, has sparked controversy over the importance Chief Minister Vijay places on industrial investments.
While various factories and manufacturing companies are already operating in Tamil Nadu, it has now been reported that investment agreements worth 12,300 crore have been signed. In this, the fact that the Motherson Group, headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, already operates 32 plants in Tamil Nadu, and that Chief Minister Vijay traveled to London and signed an investment agreement with that group, has become a subject of debate.
There are discussions going on in Tamil Nadu, with the question of why Chief Minister Vijay had to come all the way to London to sign a new investment agreement with companies that are already making industrial investments in Tamil Nadu, when the agreement could even have been made with that administration operating in Tamil Nadu or at the Chennai Secretariat. There is an opportunity for the government to do that, after all.
What is the real status behind preparing a separate travel itinerary solely for this purpose and going to London to sign an agreement? That is the question now being raised among the people of the country. In short, the question has arisen among the public whether Chief Minister Vijay’s trip is an official trip or a personal trip. Isn’t that a fair question?
Is government money being spent on this trip? If so, who all have gone with Chief Minister Vijay? Will the TVK government maintain transparency in those details?
Since the TVK government took office, important actions and government orders for appointments have been handled in a mysterious manner. It has become the TVK government’s habit to keep government orders for such appointments secret, without properly releasing them in public, when various government posts and board chairperson positions are allotted to some party administrators and key office-bearers.
The power outage problem has increased across the state, and the prices of essential commodities have risen to sky-high levels. Law and order and women’s safety have become issues, and the movement of narcotic substances has increased.
With debt standing at Rs. 11 lakh crore, is a new Secretariat necessary at a cost of Rs. 1,200 crore? Such questions have been raised in debate.
On one side, farmers are protesting; on another, contract sanitation workers are protesting; fishermen are protesting against the construction of the new Secretariat. Overall, people across the state are taking to the streets and protesting, demanding justice. The Chief Minister, who should be addressing and resolving all these issues, has set them aside and gone abroad.
Was Chief Minister Vijay’s hurried trip to London a trip to attract investments, or a publicity trip to maintain his political influence? He said, let’s wait and see whether the controversy surrounding the London trip will be resolved.
