Mayor, Minister give away freebies

VELLORE: A wordy duel ensued between Health Minister Dr V S Vijay and Vellore Corporation Mayor Karthiyayini on Monday, over the failure to invite the latter for the freebie distribution programme at Konavattam in Vellore.The programme was scheduled for Monday, at Konavattam school in Vellore. Health Minister Dr V S Vijay and Tahsildar Murugan participated in the meeting. Duirng the programme, Dr Vijay said that he was helping fulfil the promise made by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa during the election manifesto. The freebies would improve the quality of life for the people, he believed.He also said that the Chief Minister is taking steps to address the problem of power shortage and that within 6 months, there would be no shortage in the state. During the programme, Vellore Mayor Karthiyayini stepped in and questioned the minister as to why she was not invited for the event. To this, the minister replied that it is the mistake of the government officials, who had forgotten to invite her.Later, they distributed freebies, including mixies, grinders and fans to a total of 2,251 beneficiaries.