DMK's working president M.K. Stalin has wondered what was the need for the present AIADMK regime to concentrate in celebrating the birth anniversary of AIADMK’s founder-president MGR at a time when the whole of Kanniyakumari District is reeling under the impact of ‘Cyclone Ockhi’ which hit the District over the weekend.

Natural sources have come under attack in Kanniyakumari where hundreds of trees were uprooted last Friday as Cyclone Ockhi crossed the Kumari coast on its way to Lakshadweep and to move further towards Mumbai.  Many fishermen, who had gone for deep-sea fishing on Thursday, haven’t yet returned to the coast, leaving hundreds of worried relatives and friends waiting on the sea-shore.

Commenting on chief-minister Edapadi K. Palaniswami taking part in the MGR centenary celebrations at Coimbatore, Stalin wondered how the chief-minister could be taking part in a celebration at a time when a whole District has been ravaged by a natural calamity. “Instead of setting up welcome arches against the High Court order, it is time for the chief-minister to shun celebrations and concentrate in attempting to provide relief and rehabilitation to the affected people in Kanniyakumari,” he said.

On another note, he said that it was entirely the prerogative of actor-producer Vishal to contest the R.K. Nagar by-polls.  “As per the Constitution, anybody who possesses voting rights can contest the elections; why not Vishal?” he said.