In a blatant disregard for Madras High Court order, humongous cutouts of AIADMK stalwarts towered over Chennai’s Maduravoyal, allegedly erected for a Tamil Nadu minister’s family function.
Four massive hoardings of MGR, J Jayalalithaa, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappaddi Palaniswami and deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam were put up in Maduravoyal despite the Madras High Court banning the erection of hoardings and cut-outs on the streets of Tamil Nadu.
Pictures of the hoardings, allegedly put up by Tamil Nadu Rural Industries Minister Benjamin for a family function are being circulated on social media and have been drawing much ire.
However, when TNM contacted Maduravoyal police to ask about the hoardings, officials said that the cutouts had been put up after the appropriate permissions were obtained, and didn’t comment further about the incident.
This is not the first time the AIADMK has flouted Madras HC rules. Just two months ago, the AIADMK received a lot of flak for setting up banners and hoardings in front of a bus stop in Avvai Shanmugam Salai, completely blocking it from public view.
Last year, AIADMK hoardings in Coimbatore had led to the death of 32-year-old K Raghupathy. He fell off his two-wheeler after crashing into an illegal hoarding erected in the city and was then run over by a truck.
The incident sparked much outrage among the public and a few days after his death, the words “Who Killed Raghu?” were painted onto the roads where the young man lost his life. Following the tragedy, the Madras High Court had ordered for the immediate removal of the hoardings and banned any hoardings and cutouts.
However, despite being repeatedly slammed for the erection of illegal hoardings, the AIADMK seems to have learnt no lessons.