A government function attended by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin in Chepauk has sparked public outrage after slum areas near the venue were obscured with temporary screens ahead of the event.
The function, held in Lock Nagar today, marked the inauguration of a new multi-purpose building. Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Chepauk MLA, presided over the event, alongside senior leaders including Minister K.N. Nehru and Chennai Mayor R. Priya.
Ahead of the event, the Buckingham Canal area and adjacent slum settlements were shielded with large temporary hoardings for a stretch of nearly 200 metres on either side of the road. The move has prompted backlash, with critics questioning whether the screening was done by the Chennai Corporation or political operatives from the ruling DMK. The area in question includes a densely populated settlement of economically disadvantaged families and daily-wage workers living in hutments.
Images and videos of the screens have gone viral on social media, prompting comparisons to similar actions taken by the central government in the past—criticized then by DMK leaders themselves.
Notably, in September 2023, Udhayanidhi Stalin had accused the BJP-led central government of resorting to cosmetic beautification by concealing slums during the G20 summit in Delhi. Speaking at a public meeting, he had compared the BJP to a “venomous snake” and accused it of masking poverty under the guise of development. “People should not give space to either BJP or AIADMK in Tamil Nadu,” he had stated at the time.
(With inputs from Indian Express Tamil)
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