"சென்னையில் மழை வந்தால் சேலத்தில் குடைபிடிக்கும்" முதல்வர், வெள்ள பாதிப்புகளை சரிசெய்ய இனியாவது போர்க்கால நடவடிக்கைகளில் ஈடுபட வேண்டும்...

DMK working president M.K. Stalin delivered a biting critique of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on November 2, 2017, as torrential northeast monsoon rains submerged roads and neighborhoods across Chennai. Using a colorful colloquial idiom, Stalin remarked that the state was witnessing a bizarre spectacle where rain fell heavily on Chennai, yet the Chief Minister was holding an umbrella in Salem. He questioned the Chief Minister's complete physical absence from the state capital during an unfolding civic emergency.

Stalin stressed that when the state capital faces severe waterlogging, power outages, and transport disruption, the chief executive of the state should be stationed at headquarters, coordinating inter-departmental relief operations. Instead, the head of government chose to retreat to his home district, leaving junior officials without strategic executive guidance. This prolonged absence created a visible administrative vacuum across municipal response teams.

The DMK leader demanded that the Chief Minister immediately return to Chennai and direct disaster mitigation operations on a war footing. He called for the urgent clearance of inundated subways, continuous running of de-watering pumps, and widespread health camps. Stalin affirmed that the DMK will persistently pressure authorities to safeguard the lives and properties of Chennai residents.