Tamil Nadu lawmaker threatens protest outside minister's house

Chennai, July 3 : The Tamil Nadu Assembly Friday saw a heated debate when Congress Legislature Party leader D. Sudharsanam threatened to protest outside the house of Minister Suba Thangavelan over the plight of slum dwellers who face eviction.

In a calling attention motion to highlight the plight of slum dwellers in north Chennai facing eviction due to the railway's expansion works, Sudharsanam said: "The railways has sent notice for their eviction. They are residing there for more than 100 years. The issue had been raised twice earlier in this house."

The Congress supports the DMK ministry in Tamil Nadu.

Sudharsanam said the issue had been brought to the notice of Slum Clearance and Accommodation Control Minister Thangavelan, but alleged that the minister seemed to be taking no interest in the matter.

He said the government should provide an alternate site for their accommodation, failing which he would be forced to hold a protest outside the minister's house.

P.K. Sekar Babu of the AIADMK, meanwhile, said the issue has been hanging for the past five years and that the present site had been allotted to the residents by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board.

Citing a similar instance during AIADMK's rule in the state, he said the then chief minister J. Jayalalitha had promptly allotted an alternative site for 160 slum dwellers.

Responding to the motion, Thangavelan said: "We have written to the railways several times but haven't received any reply."

He added that a solution would be reached after consultations with the chief minister.