AIADMK to hold protests on July 20 condemning TN govt on vegetable price rise

Chennai, Jul 13 (PTI) The AIADMK will conduct statewide protests on July 20 condemning the ruling DMK for failing to rein in the prices of tomatoes and other essential commodities and also the alleged irregularities in government departments, party’s general secretary K Palaniswami said on Thursday.

Claiming that uncertainty has been prevailing since the DMK came to power two years ago, Palaniswami said the prices of vegetables including tomatoes, shallot, ginger, garlic, green chillies, beans, carrots, chickpea, and even Thoor Dal and Urid Dal have skyrocketed.

He alleged that the government was not properly implementing the distribution of the essential commodities to the people through the fair price shops. “Due to the spiraling prices, people, especially the poor and the middle class, are finding it difficult to survive,” Palaniswami, who is the leader of the opposition in the Assembly said in a statement here.

“When there was a price rise during the then AIADMK regime due to natural calamities or some other factors, the government had sourced the vegetables and other essential commodities from the neighbouring states and provided them to the people at subsidised prices through the fair price shops,” the former Chief Minister claimed.

In addition to this burden, the power outages that were never witnessed during a decade of AIADMK rule have returned to haunt the people and industries after the DMK took up the reins, he said.

“Corruption has become rampant in all departments including registration, electricity and prohibition, and the anti-people and anti-democratic attitude of the DMK is reprehensible.” Hence, his party would hold massive protest in all district headquarters across the state on July 20 to condemn the state government, Palaniswami said in the statement.