CHENNAI: Electricity Minister C T R Nirmal Kumar on Monday accused the previous DMK government of misusing safety regulations, which were introduced after the 2004 Kumbakonam school fire tragedy in which 94 children died, to allegedly collect money from educational institutions.
Speaking to reporters, the minister alleged that between Rs 300 crore and Rs 400 crore had been collected from 4,000 to 5,000 schools by compromising safety norms and issuing certificates through intermediaries.
The minister said the regulations were intended to ensure that school buses met safety standards, adequate safeguards were in place and fire accidents were prevented.
“The school safety regulations were introduced to protect children, but the previous DMK government misused them for financial gain,” he said, and demanded that DMK president MK Stalin take responsibility for the alleged irregularities. Nirmal Kumar also accused former school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi of being linked to the alleged racket and referred to his political proximity to Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Referring to the disappearance of a minor girl in Gingee, Nirmal Kumar said the police had been conducting an intensive search for the past 10 days and investigating the case from all angles.
“Under the present government, we have instructed the police to register cases immediately whenever wrongdoing is reported. The police are making every effort to trace the missing girl,” he said.
Targeting former chief minister M K Stalin, the minister referred to the unsolved murder of Ramajeyam, brother of DMK leader K N Nehru, and questioned why the case remained unresolved despite several transfers of senior police officers during the previous government’s five-year tenure.
The minister also referred to the POCSO cases against Gem Granites chairman Veeramani and alleged that Rs 100 crore to Rs 200 crore had changed hands in an attempt to settle the case. He questioned whether Stalin was unaware of the alleged developments.
Nirmal Kumar further questioned the administrative accountability of the previous government, asking who had exercised authority if the former CM had no knowledge of the alleged activities.
