‘Happy that Palaniswami has realised the fight is between DMK, AIADMK’
Seeking to dismiss the BJP as an unworthy rival in the Lok Sabha poll, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday said it was good that the Leader of the Opposition, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, “has at least now realised that the competition is between the DMK and the AIADMK in the State, but not with the BJP”.
This was evident during Mr. Palaniswami’s first election campaign event of the season in Tiruchi recently, he said.
At the same time, he did not spare the AIADMK leader from criticism. Speaking at the INDIA bloc’s public meeting in Thoothukudi, he said that though Mr. Palaniswami was claiming to have exited the BJPled NDA, he had not uttered a single word against the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Listing examples of the “silent spectator” approach of Mr. Palaniswami to the “injustices” rendered to the Tamil people by the BJP government at the Centre, he said, “The biggest injustice done to the people of Thoothukudi was the killing of 13 people in the antiSterlite protest. “Without hesitating even for a second, Mr. Palaniswami told the media that he was not aware of the shooting, and he knew about it only after watching it on television,” the DMK leader said.
Mr. Palaniswami should realise that the people will never forget the unfair treatment they received during the erstwhile AIADMK regime, he said.
“Mr. Modi, who frequently criticises the DMK government, is equally dangerous. He promised me during the floods in Tamil Nadu that he would extend his support by disbursing funds once Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman submits a report after assessing the damage. But we did not receive a single rupee out of the ₹37,000 crore we had sought,” he said.
Criticising the frequent visits of Mr. Modi to the State, Mr. Stalin said he would only visit when there was a specific purpose. “Many promises like transforming Rameswaram into a tourist hub and connecting it with Dhanushkodi remain on paper,” he claimed. Mr. Stalin wondered whether Mr. Modi would remain silent if the Pakistani Army attacked Indian fishermen. “Why have different approaches to people of the same country,” he asked.