‘G Square Maapilai’, ‘lottery son-in-law’ jibes and a new data centre at Parandur

On Tuesday, as the Tamil Nadu Assembly convened, the debate was supposed to focus on the Parandur Greenfield airport project, which was scrapped by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government. When the House began discussing the demands and grants for the Industries Department, the opposition DMK raised questions and argued that the state cannot afford to abandon the second airport proposed at Parandur.

The discussion began revolving around the airports in Tamil Nadu. The paddy fields and water bodies at Parandur, Vijay’s visit to meet the farmers before the election, and the question of where else Chennai could find space for a second airport emerged as strong points from the treasury benches to defend Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s decision to scrap the project.

But all of a sudden, R. Nirmal Kumar, Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Energy and Law, stood up and threw in a new term, bringing in a son-in-law reference in the Assembly: “Those who are crying here for the scrapping of the airport project is doing so for only one reason - for the G Square son-in-law.”

Soon, the opposition benches were up in arms, shouting against the remark made by the minister. But he clarified again. “G Square mapillai (son-in-law) is not unparliamentary. I haven’t said anything wrong. Why is everyone standing up and shouting? This isn't a PT period for everyone to stand up like this. Sit down everyone.”

Nirmal Kumar was obviously referring to former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s son-in-law V. Sabareesan, whose name had always been referred to in the political allegations surrounding the real estate company, G Square.

But the minister, despite the huge noise on the floor, never expected that he would get an earful from the opposition DMK. Former finance minister and DMK senior leader Thangam Thennarasu replied, “If the law minister would talk in this manner, I can pay you back with the same currency. If you will say G Square mapillai, can I say that for which Lottery mapillai you are looking for a space for the second airport?”

The Speaker looked petrified. The entire treasury bench was shaken, as they did not expect such a shot back from someone like Thennarasu. He was referring to PWD Minister Aadhav Arjuna, son-in-law of lottery businessman Santiago Martin.

The discussion on the two sons-in-law is not new in Tamil Nadu politics. Time and again, several YouTubers and many politicians have taken to similar comments while speaking at public meetings. Sometimes, it had even been a joke within WhatsApp groups and a few influential political circles.

But a minister talking in the language of a YouTuber inside the floor of the Assembly may not be new for those who have been watching the TVK’s budget session live since August 5, as they are used to this. But for seasoned politicians and journalists who have been covering the Assembly for decades, this is the language that had never got into the Assembly records.

The TVK, which is much aware of the audience they are getting by televising the Assembly session live, has made minister Nirmal Kumar’s approach the most favourite way of approaching a debate inside the Assembly. And from the Assembly debates being telecast live, within minutes, the visuals turn into short reels on Instagram and YouTube with titles, “Fire inside the assembly”, “Vijay versus Udhayanidhi” and many more misleading headlines.

The new TVK government apparently has been gaining through these reels as they don’t go by the rulebook. Thennarasu, a seasoned politician who is known for his soft tone and public decorum, replied to Nirmal in the same language the TVK preferred. In turn, the larger discussion on the Industries Department turned into a topic of debate about the sons-in-law.

Soon, Industry Minister S. Keerthana interfered and defended the TVK government’s move to scrap the project. She said the land parcels acquired for the airport will now be used for industrial purposes.

But, according to sources, the land acquired for the Greenfield airport at Parandur on the outskirts of Chennai is likely to be allotted to an infrastructure major, which had recently signed an MoU with the Tamil Nadu government to set up a huge data centre at a cost of ₹10,000 crore.

Sources say that the Parandur project was cancelled only to accommodate the infrastructure major. The project is to build the country’s single largest cluster artificial intelligence infrastructure facility.

While the farmers hailed Vijay for his decision to scrap the project and protect the farmlands and water bodies there, a data centre could actually drain every resource in the region. If an airport is built, the farmers will lose their fertile lands, but get compensation and be displaced to another place where they can make a living. But a data centre means no jobs for the locals and farmlands turn barren.