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AIADMK slams DMK govt over Formula 4 street race
The opposition AIADMK on Sunday opposed the state government’s plans of hosting India’s first formula 4 night street racing in Chennai from the August 30 to September 1 blaming the ruling DMK government for misgovernance.
The opposition AIADMK on Sunday opposed the state government’s plans of hosting India’s first formula 4 night street racing in Chennai from the August 30 to September 1 blaming the ruling DMK government for misgovernance.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) said public funds should benefit people and not be used for entertainment under the guise of a sporting event. “There are so many problems that people are facing today and in such a scenario this DMK government is conducting a car race,” EPS said in Salem district. “How many people have cars?”
The race would cut through the heart of the city for 3.5 km around Island Grounds near the Marina beach. EPS said that the circuit is near hospitals and would affect transport immensely in the city. Under the regime of late AIADMK leader and former chief minister J Jayalalithaa a racing track in Irungattukottai was created in the 1990s, he said. “But, they have left that and chosen to waste taxpayers money to conduct the racing in the middle of the city which would put people under a lot of hardship,” EPS said. He also solely blamed sports minister Udhayanidhi Stalin for proposing the plan.
The state government argued that they have an agreement with the private organisers of the event to share the revenue generated similar to the process followed in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“This is a major step that we have taken to bring our state up to the international level in racing and also promote the sport here,” a DMK leader said in response to EPS’ accusations.
India’s first driver to compete in Formula 1 racing, Narain Karthikeyan, is from Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore, who was also part of the event launching the race a fortnight ago. “Besides ticketing sales and sponsorships, revenue for would be generated from television and OTT rights, advertisements and we have an agreement that a part of this would go to the state government,” he said.
The DMK government has spent around ₹30 crore for the race including developing roads (by the Racing Promotion Private Limited (RPPL) and the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu) that conform to motor racing norms. Eight teams will participate over the three-day event, an official said. The track will have 19 turns, multiple chicanes, and tricky elevations, the official added.
Earlier in July, the AIADMK wrote to chief secretary Shiv Das Meena raising its objections.
The race, which was meant to be conducted last year was postponed, due to cyclone Michaung in 2023. On a batch of public interest litigations filed last year to ban the race over safety concerns, the Madras high court had allowed the night race with riders such as not causing inconvenience to the public.
