Annamalai slams govt over transfer of bureaucrats

Karur: Former BJP state president K Annamalai has hit out at the DMK govt over transfer of bureaucrats. Speaking at a party street corner campaign meeting at Chinnadharapuram in Aravakurichi constituency, he said Shanmuga Sundaram, former controller of examinations (CoE) of Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC), had failed to properly organise TNPSC Group II exam but was still given a promotion (as secretary of state election commission.) "Even competitive exams, for which 9,000 aspirants had registered, could not be held properly and had to be cancelled. Yet the IAS officer was given a promotion. How will he be able to help conduct an election where there are 8.5 crore people," he said. Annamalai alleged that DMK deliberately withheld support for the AIIMS project in Madurai even while campaigning against the central govt over the delay. "The DMK wants to blame the central govt, but it has tried hard to stop the project from coming up. However, it will be come up by the end of 2026. It will be of a standard equal to AIIMS Delhi and will benefit people from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala," he said. Annamalai said chief minister M K Stalin made many election promises, but failed to fulfil them. "Look at the development of Andhra Pradesh, but the chief minister here is focused only on fighting with the central govt," he said. "In Tamil Nadu, one family is currently ruling the entire state. But in BJP or AIADMK, even a common man can rise through the ranks," he said, citing Edappadi Palaniswami.