At a time when the Edappadi K. Palanisamy-led government in Tamil Nadu is trying hard to tackle the crisis within and reach out to the mass by taking people welfare as the slogan, Milk and Dairy Development Minister K.T. Rajenthira Balaji sparked off a controversy, saying that milk supplied by private players in the state were “cancerous”.
Batting for the state-run Aavin enterprises and the milk supplied by it, the minister asked the people to go for Aavin. “Just because there is short supply of Aavin milk, can we go for private milk which is adulterated and poisonous?,” he asked in a press conference.
“Milk sold by private companies is adulterated and that's why it can last for many days without getting fermented. They add chemicals which would cause cancer in children. Aavin milk is pure like the mother’s milk,” said Balaji. Stating that he had already initiated the process for testing and researching to prove that chemicals are added in the milk supplied by private companies, the minister said, “Action will be taken on these companies after I get the detailed test reports.”
Though the state has a history of milk adulteration, the latest allegation made by Balaji without the support of any proof has raised several eyebrows.
Whose hands are clean?
It may be recalled that it was in 2014, the AIADMK regime under Jayalalithaa, was ripped apart for the infamous Aavin scam. The scam involved 2,000 litres of milk supplied by each of the 100 odd milk tankers. It was a multi-crore racket which involved stealing of milk and replacing it with water. At least 2 lakh litres of milk were stolen everyday and diverted to private players, making the Aavin consumers go for the thinner milk. Most of these tankers were owned and operated by AIADMK leader N. Vidyanathan.
It is not the first time a cabinet minister has come up with such weird inventions. Earlier, Local Administration Minister Sellur K. Raju found an innovative way to save the water in Vaigai dam by covering it with thermocole sheet. However, Balaji's claims have put the private milk companies in a fix.
