'Will meet Governor, submit petition': AIADMK leader on twin hooch tragedies in TN

Madurai (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 21 : AIADMK senior leader and former minister Sellur Raju on Sunday said that the party will meet the state governor and submit a petition demanding action in connection with the recent incident in which 20 people died after drinking spurious liquor.

The former minister said, "When DMK was in opposition, DMK and its allies said that TASMAC should be closed in Tamil Nadu, but in a recent incident more than 20 people have died after drinking illicit liquor. In this regard, we will meet the Governor and submit a petition requesting him to take action."

He further alleged that the DMK party and its allies are DMK are choosing to stay silent over this issue of counterfeiting in the state which resulted in the death of 20 people.

Reacting to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin attending the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-elected government in Karnataka, Raju said, "If you have seen Karnataka Chief Minister's swearing-in ceremony on Saturday, we can understand how much Karnataka ignores Tamil Nadu. Voluntarily TN CM Stalin went to the stage but there he was sidelined. I strongly condemn this because he represents the eight crore people of Tamil Nadu."

Hitting out at the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government over the hooch tragedy in the state, BJP carried out massive protests in multiple locations on Saturday.

BJP state chief Annamalai said that a woman delegation would meet Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi and urge him to use his special powers to dismiss two ministers facing corruption allegations.

The BJP state chief alleged that the income of state-run company Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC) has increased by 22 per cent under the DMK government.

In the two separate incidents in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram and Chengalpet, a total of 20 deaths were reported due to the consumption of spurious liquor.

According to the police, a man identified as Amaran has been arrested and spurious liquor seized from his possession has been sent to the lab to ascertain the presence of methanol, in this regard.