Arunraj hits out at DMK over medicine covers

Tamil Nadu Health Minister Arunraj has criticised the DMK over the controversy surrounding medicine covers carrying instructions in Hindi at government hospitals in Karur and Coimbatore.
In a statement, Arunraj alleged that the DMK was attempting to blame the present government for medicine covers that, according to him, were introduced during the previous regime.
He said medicine covers used at the Karur Government Medical College Hospital were generally obtained from the Central Prison, with dosage instructions stamped only in Tamil. Due to a shortage in December 2025, four lakh covers were ordered through a cooperative printing press in Erode and came into use in January 2026.
Arunraj also claimed that similar covers had been officially approved and introduced at the Coimbatore Government Medical College Hospital during the previous government’s tenure.
Following the controversy, the use of the disputed covers was stopped at both hospitals. Karur has returned to the earlier practice of using covers with Tamil instructions, while Coimbatore is preparing covers containing instructions in Tamil and English. Arunraj reiterated that the government would continue to follow the two-language policy and would not compromise on the issue.