Truth is the speaking of such words
that are free from the least degree of evil to others …….. immortal words of
Thiruvalluvar.
The tenure of 14th
Assembly of Tamil Nadu ends in May 22,
2016. Elections to the State Assembly
will be held on 16th May 2016 - there are over 5.79 Crore voters in
the electoral rolls and 65,616 polling stations in Tamil Nadu. Elections code of conduct is in place. Residents are feeling happy that walls are free from the menace of posters and walk on
pavements unhindered by banners. The model code of conduct came into effect on
March 4 and subsequently, about 13,000 cases of defacement of walls and 4,000
banners were reported in Chennai with Corporation staff already on the job of
pulling down posters in various places. They are also covering the names of
political leaders to ensure that none gets undue mileage.
Way back in Aug
2009, a bronze statue that had stood covered for years was relieved –
that of Tamil saint Poet Thiruvalluvar unveiled at Bangalore whilst at the same
time one of Kannada Poet Sarvagnar was
unveiled at Ayyanavaram, in Chennai. Many
would have forgotten that the issue of statue had been simmering and potentially threatening
relations from 1991 atleast and was infact one of the demands of Brigand
Veerappan for release of matinee idol Rajkumar. The CM of Karnataka BS
Yeddyurappa took a commendable move forward by announcing that the statue would
be unveiled at Ulsoor by the CM of Tamilnadu.
The Elections are
not yet felt ~ sooner you would have leaders and contenders sweating out –
organising roadshows, street meetings, cycle rallies – most of them are things
of the past.
A few years ago, during
the elections in Uttar Pradesh Election Commission (EC) ordered masking of the
umpteen elephant statues that Mayavati had erected across the state. In Tamil Nadu in 2014, they issued orders to
cover CM’s pictures on the boards of
"Amma Unvagam" (Amma Canteens), her block-buster food security
initiative that serves hot cooked meals to thousands of people every day. Some one from a smaller party quipped can they
cover - ‘the rising sun and hand too’ !
Now
Salem is in news ! The Salem Corporation
has placed a worker under suspension for covering the statue of Tiruvalluvar
with white cloth recently.
The statue is
located in the Salem (North) Assembly Constituency near Old Bus Stand. It had
been covered by Santhakumar, a staff of the water supply wing of the civic
body, after the model code of conduct came into force. Complaints poured in
from the pubic and political parties who demanded that the statue be uncovered.
District Electoral Officer and Collector V. Sampath ordered the Revenue
Divisional Officer, Tahsildar and Village Administrative Officer to uncover the
statue.
Photo credit : The
Hindu
The cloth was
removed on March 14. As soon as the news of the statue being covered spread,
several took to the social media to question the move: “Which political party
did Tiruvalluvar belong to and why the Election Commission officials were not
able to differentiate between statues of political leaders and that of
Tiruvalluvar?” Even during a Q&A session on Twitter organised by the Chief
Electoral Officer through his official handle @TNelectionsCEO on Wednesday, one
of the participants had tweeted, “Tiruvalluvar belongs to which party? Can he
influence the voters? Transfer the Salem Collector.”
…it is a
mistake no doubt – but should action be taken against a small time Worker of
the Corporation ? – it is easier always !!
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
18th Mar
2016.
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