DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Sunday described as an instance of “wanton political malice,” the decision of the government to set up a hospital at the new Secretariat complex on Anna Salai after coming to the conclusion that the construction was poor and that its lack of adequate space rendered it unfit to house the secretariat and Assembly.
“Can the building be turned into a superior structure by running a hospital from there?” Mr. Karunanidhi asked in a statement here.
He said the adamant attitude of the AIADMK government in reviewing all the schemes conceived by the DMK government would result in wasteful expenditure of the tax payer money, but would not cause any damage to the DMK.
“This has given an opportunity to the people to understand what kind of change has been brought in the government and the politically vindictive actions of the rulers,” he added.
Mr. Karunanidhi said there were elegantly designed chambers with adequate space for Ministers and air-conditioned rooms for the secretaries of various departments in the new secretariat. On the other hand, in the old secretariat in Fort St George, only the Chief Minister's chamber had all the facilities, but there was very little space for Ministers and secretaries, he said.
Stressing that Ms. Jayalaithaa had discarded the new secretariat building only out of political malice, Mr. Karunanidhi recalled her remarks made in 2003 highlighting the need for constructing a new building for the secretariat as the main building constructed in 1781 and the Namakkal Kavignar Maligai erected in 1975 were inadequate to house over 7,000 government employees, Ministers, MLAs and thousands of visitors.
Mr. Karunanidhi also rejected media reports that said he had no objection to have a hospital in the new secretariat complex, saying his views on the issue had been suitably censored to suit the headlines.
However, what he had actually said was that he had offered legislators and Ministers considerable space in the new building and wondered how some people could settle for a “sparrow's nest.” “Do these words mean I am not disappointed with the government's decision?” he asked.
Mr. Karunanidhi also took exception to CPI(M) floor leader A. Soundararajan's remarks that the building was not constructed from the money that came from his Gopalapuram residence.
“How much will it cost to convert the building into a hospital after designing it in such a way to accommodate the Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council, conference halls, chambers for leaders of political parties? Will it not result in wasting the money already spent for the purpose? To run a hospital we need special designs for operation theatres and different electrical arrangements. Can the CPI(M) be a party to the obstinacy of the government and allow the tax payers money to be wasted?” he asked.
Published - August 22, 2011 01:12 am IST
