AIADMK team meets guv, accuses DMK govt of vendetta, corruption

CHENNAI: Accusing the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) of indulging in “corruption, collection and vendetta”, a delegation of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) led by Edappadi Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam on Thursday called on Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit at the Raj Bhavan to complain against the ruling party, after boycotting the ongoing assembly session.

The AIADMK submitted a fivepage list of litanies to the governor, seeking a probe and necessary action against the DMK. It claimed that the agenda of the chief minister MK Stalin-led government is “corruption-collection-vendetta”. Interestingly, when in opposition, Stalin had described the AIADMK’s governance as “corruption-commissioncollection”.

The AIADMK has been edgy in what it perceives to be the beginning of troubled times after ruling the state for the past 10 years. On Wednesday, the 2017 heistcum-murder case at late CM J Jayalalithaa’s Kodanad Estate came up in the assembly, a day after police questioned prime accused Sayan in the case. The AIADMK staged a walkout from the assembly in protest.

Soon after the DMK formed the government in May, the Directorate of Vigilance and AntiCorruption (DVAC) filed corruption cases against AIADMK leaders and raided Palaniswami’s close aide and former municipal administration minister SP Velumani and former transport minister MR Vijayabhaskar. A week ago, the AIADMK formed a sixmember committee, comprising senior party leaders and legal brains including former law minister CV Shunmugham, to help party members fight cases. The same team met the governor on Thursday for about 40-minutes.

After the meeting, former CM Palaniswami reiterated that out of “political vendetta”, the DMK was scheming to frame him and his colleagues in the Kodanad case and they were falsely foisting cases against former ministers. On Wednesday, Stalin dismissed the charge, saying it was the DMK’s poll promise to bring the real culprits involved in the 2017 Kodanad case to book. On Thursday, Palaniswami countered, “This has nothing to do with their poll promise. This is being overseen by law and is at the closing stage.”

Rejecting AIAMDK’s charges, DMK spokesperson A Saravanan said, “They (AIADMK) are unable to face the consequences of their actions in past 10 years.”

Edapaddi Palaniswami