COIMBATORE: Kovai Babu Selvakumar, a DMK councillor in the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation, resigned from the party on Saturday, alleging pressure to pay “party fund” for civic work.Selvakumar, councillor of ward 22 and DMK Coimbatore North district organiser for the NRI wing, submitted his resignation to the district secretary Senthamil Selvan stating that he was cutting ties as a primary member.In his resignation letter, Selvakumar made strong accusations against the party high command and local leadership. He alleged that internal democracy had eroded and that power was concentrated in the hands of a few. He pointed to the political rise of party president M K Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi and the influence of Stalin’s son-in-law V Sabareesan. He alleged that the party’s functioning resembled monarchy and capitalism while it continued to speak about social justice.Selvakumar alleged that he was pressured to pay a “party fund” to continue effectively performing his duties as an elected councillor. He said when he had raised basic civic issues such as damaged roads, faulty streetlights, drinking water supply and sanitation, he was told to pay the fund rather than receive administrative support. Selvakumar stated that he would rather resign than yield to such demands.He expressed frustration that veteran cadres and loyal workers who supported the party during its decade in opposition, including those who spent their own money and faced imprisonment, were being ignored. He alleged that authority in Coimbatore was handed to minister V Senthil Balaji, reducing senior district functionaries to workers under a corporate style structure.Selvakumar alleged that after years of DMK rule, the public had not benefited, and Coimbatore’s civic infrastructure remained neglected. He said there was no space for youth, the poor and ordinary members. He said that grassroots work was being used to benefit the families of a small group of ministers. Selvakumar has not yet resigned as a councillor.
