CHENNAI: The use of Hindi words on the medicine covers distributed at government hospitals in Karur and Coimbatore has triggered a political row, with Health Minister KG Arunraj accusing the DMK of playing “cheap politics” and stating that the covers in question were introduced during the previous regime.
In Karur, the minister said, medicine covers were normally procured from the Central Prison and carried instructions such as “morning/afternoon/night” in Tamil.
Due to a shortage of covers in December 2025, an order was placed with the Erode District Printing Industrial Co-operative Society for four lakh covers. These, he said, were brought into circulation in January 2026, when the DMK was still in power.
He added that a similar practice had been in place in Coimbatore for nearly three years, with the covers printed through the Chinthamani Co-operative Society.
Arunraj alleged that the DMK government had permitted the use of Hindi words and approved the template, and accused the party of now shifting the blame to the ruling dispensation after the issue became a political controversy.
He further said the present administration only procured covers based on requirements and had not made any changes to the design or language introduced during the previous regime.
Following the controversy, the use of the disputed medicine covers was stopped in both Karur and Coimbatore, Arunraj said. In Karur, the earlier practice of using covers with details printed only in Tamil has been restored and in Coimbatore, steps have been taken to prepare and use new medicine covers carrying instructions only in Tamil and English, he said.