As Tamil Nadu was getting battered by continuous rains, Santosh Abraham and Anisha Francis, a couple based in Puducherry, decided that they will help in any way they can. A lot of relief materials were being sent to Chennai, but they chose to help coordinate materials to Cuddolore. Their biggest challenge they say however was not logistics, but dealing with “goons” who were sticking images of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa before sending the supplies for distribution.
The AIADMK has since denied their cadres were involved in such incidents.
“We don’t have a problem if the government asks all vehicles with relief materials to gather at a central point and then sending material appropriately to areas which need it. But putting stickers of the CM for our personal efforts as if it’s (materials) their personal wealth that’s being distributed, is wrong,” Santhosh told The News Minute.
“Volunteers were on the ground before the government started functioning. You can’t politicise things like that and make your mark from human suffering,” he adds.
In yet another incident, Santosh alleges that goons of a Tamil Nadu minister tore the sheets, threw the food packets sent by TCS employees in another city because the volunteers did not wait for the minister to turn up before the distribution started.
These are not the only such incidents, many other have complained on Facebook as well. Further, the relief-efforts in the aftermath of the massive natural calamity are being used by many as a brand building exercise, allegedly by AIADMK party men.
Here are few images which are circulating on social media, the authenticity of which cannot be independently verified.
And there is a lot of anger on social media too.
A video, reportedly shot at a relief-materials centre in Tiruppur is also doing the rounds.
There are two points to note here: one that alleged AIADMK men are forcing posters on relief materials from private citizens and charities, and two, that the relief material being organized by the AIADMK or the TN government have Amma poster all over them.
That members of the party themselves are using this as an opportunity for a PR campaign is coming in for a lot of criticism.
Unbelievable levels of WTF. pic.twitter.com/sL6S24LSoy
— Rum (@KaapiRight) December 4, 2015As for the allegations of forcible poster-pasting, AIADMK officials have denied it. Top AIADMK sources have told The News Minute that the police have arrested 5 members who stopped vehicles yesterday for sticking posters. The men have reportedly said that they were paid money to pretend to be AIADMK supporters and embarrass the party. An AIADMK official told The Hindu that volunteers being harassed by party cadre can lodge their complaints at 044-28130787, 044-28132266, 044-28133510. “They can also send their complaints via email to info@aiadmk.com, or tweet to @aiadmkofficial,” the official told The Hindu.