The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday grew tense over a plan to shift chief minister C Joseph Vijay’s office to a spacious, modern building in the Secretariat complex, with minister Aadhav Arjuna clarifying that the relocation was not about “personal luxury.”
The issue reportedly began after the opposition party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), slammed the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government over alleged irregularities in a ₹5.54 crore-worth tender issued for relocating the CMO.
It was alleged that the tender notification for the CM’s office relocation was published in newspapers on August 13, but was uploaded to the official website four days later, on August 17, with an unspecified amount marked as “NA.”
DMK leader EV Velu raised the matter in the Assembly on Tuesday, engaging in a war of words with Tamil Nadu’s public works minister Aadhav Arjuna.
ALSO READ | ‘Could not be tolerated’: DMK mouthpiece attacks Tamil Nadu CM Vijay, Trisha over I-day event
While calling out CM Vijay’s decision to move offices, DMK leader Velu recalled the legacy of the current CMO. He said that “very simple” people have served as the state’s chief minister from that very office, news agency ANI reported.
Velu cited examples of Amma (Jayalalithaa), Kalaignar, MG Ramachandran (MGR), Edappadi K Palaniswami, MK Stalin, and others. He said these leaders have worked for the welfare of Tamil Nadu and implemented various schemes to eradicate poverty. “If Tamil Nadu is regarded as the number-one state in India, it is because all these chief ministers functioned from that very room,” Velu added.
The government’s decision is to shift the CMO from the main block of Fort St George, which houses both the chief minister’s office and the Legislative Assembly, to the adjoining Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai building, built by the late former Tamil Nadu CM Kalaignar, within the same Secretariat complex.
While criticising the tender, Velu expressed happiness over CM Vijay‘s move. “When there is a room from which so many schemes were implemented, I am personally happy that our brother, the chief minister, is moving to a room built by Kalaignar. The present room was built by the British, while the room to which the chief minister is moving was built by a Tamil,” Velu was quoted as saying.
ALSO READ | Tamil Nadu Assembly witnesses ruckus over drugs, DMK walks out
However, he circled back to the tender process, claiming that the ₹5.54 crore-worth tender for shifting the CMO was not published online.
The DMK leader stated that the chief minister’s move to relocate was disturbing to the people working in the Secretariat. He said they are saying they have “no place to eat or rest.”
“They are asking, ‘Where are we supposed to go if the chief minister takes over this space?’ The chief minister should take this into consideration,” Velu said.
What TVK minister said
Tamil Nadu’s public works minister Aadhav Arjuna dismissed the opposition’s allegation, calling it a bid to create doubt while appearing friendly.
He noted that the tender for relocating the CM’s office was reported in a private newspaper, saying that if one were to look at such reports from the past five years, then corruption would be the only thing that comes out of the PWD.
Arjuna strongly defended the tender for the shifting of CM Vijay’s office, dismissing the newspaper reports as “incorrect,” news agency PTI reported.
He affirmed that the tender process itself was not complete yet.
“How can there be allegations of corruption when the tender process itself has not been finalised and not a single rupee has been spent yet?” Arjuna asked.
He further justified the unavailability of the tender on an official website and said, “There is a reason why it has not yet been officially announced. There is also a reason why the Schedule of Rates has not yet been announced in connection with the chief minister’s project.”
ALSO READ | AIADMK protests in Tamil Nadu against Karnataka’s Mekedatu reservoir, slams ruling TVK
According to Arjuna, if the government announced the Schedule of Rates today, contractors would increase their prices in line with the prevailing cost of civil works.
“Usually, they increase their bids by 3 per cent, 5 per cent or 7 per cent. However, we have given all departments the same Schedule of Rates that was in effect last year,” he added.
He also hit out at the previous chief ministers, alleging that no one raised objections when Kalaignar or Amma (Jayalalithaa) wanted a new Secretariat built.
The TVK minister further defended the government’s decision to shift the CMO, saying that chief minister Vijay meets various people from 9:30am to 5pm, adding that many foreign delegations also come to meet him at the office. However, there are “no proper facilities” for the guests, Arjuna alleged.
“That is why both Kalaignar and Amma wanted a new Secretariat to be constructed. The chief minister is shifting his office so that everyone can sit and work comfortably. The chief minister is doing this with the intention that all the officials should have a good and comfortable working environment,” he said.
Arjuna further stated the arrangement was only “temporary”. He defended CM Vijay and said the relocation was “not being done for his personal comfort or for his own requirements,” he added. Praising Vijay, he said that the CM is “so humble” that he can be comfortable even in “a hotel or a van.”
Arjuna cited lack of basic amenities, including restrooms for about 80 personnel working in proximity to the chief minister’s office, and an inadequate reception area for visiting dignitaries.
Another pushback
DMK leader Velu once again pushed back, arguing that the estimates for tender projects were prepared collectively by IAS officers under the finance department secretary, and said that minister Aadhav Arjuna’s explanation on pricing was “incorrect.”
“When tenders are invited, contractors want to secure the work. They want to get the work somehow…Some may even think, ‘We do not need to make a profit; it is enough if we can pay the salaries of the people working for us. That has nothing to do with the government or the minister. Once the Schedule of Rates is fixed, that is the end of the matter,” Velu said.
However, Arjuna dismissed the DMK leader’s statement, stating that no tender could be released without ministerial oversight, regardless of who is involved in preparing it.
“Whatever plan the officials prepare, it cannot be released without coming to the attention of the ministers. Even if officials from all the departments are involved, it can be released only after it comes to the attention of the Public Works Minister,” Arjuna said.
He said that Vijay’s government will soon release a detailed White Paper on this matter.
(with inputs from ANI, PTI)
