Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay's (Thalapathy Vijay) plan to shift to his new office is stuck in a major political controversy. The main reason for this is that the opposition parties have accused the TVK government of serious irregularities in the tender process.
Actually, Chief Minister Vijay wants to shift his CM office from Fort St George to Namakkal Kavingar Maligai in Chennai.
According to the reports, the construction work of the new office has already started. Recently, the government had issued a tender of Rs 5.5 crore for this shifting and renovation. Making its first direct allegation of corruption in this regard, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that the official tender was issued a month after the construction work started.
BJP raised questions on claims of transparency
Attacking the matter, BJP leader C.R. Keshavan said, “The new TVK government had made tall claims of bringing complete transparency in government tender processes. But in sharp contrast, today a report in a leading newspaper has clearly exposed several serious irregularities in the tender process related to Vijay's new Chief Minister's office.”
He further said, “The report states that this tender work is worth around Rs 5.5 crore and many irregularities have been committed in the entire tender process. Only 100 days have passed since the TVK government came to power and in such a short time the government has come under the scanner.”
DMK also sought clarification from the government
Senior DMK MLA EV Velu also gave his reaction on this entire political controversy. He said, “Changing the Chief Minister's office can be his personal choice and we cannot interfere in it in any way. Anyway, we are happy in a way with the changing of the Chief Minister's office, because that existing building was built by our leader Kalaignar Karunanidhi.”
Talking further, he said, “But a leading newspaper's report clearly states that there are huge irregularities in the tender process and it was not even issued online. We want complete clarification from the government on this issue. On one hand, you talk about transparency in the tender, but according to media reports, the office work was started first and the tender was invited later.”
TVK clarified on the allegations, told why the office is being changed
Amidst all the political allegations, Tamil Nadu government minister Aadhav Arjun has completely rejected and termed all these allegations as false. He said, “These reports coming in the media are completely false and baseless.”
Expressing his views, he further said, “The Chief Minister believes that just as he needs a good place to work, similarly the other employees and officers working with him day and night should also get a comfortable environment. The space where his officers and employees are currently working is less than 100 square feet. That is why we are planning to shift his office to another place for some time.”
Referring to the nature of the Chief Minister, the Minister said, “Our Chief Minister is of very simple and friendly nature. Even during the election campaign, he never has any problem in taking rest in an ordinary hotel or in his van.”