Leader of Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Sunday alleged that the DMK was trying to “buy people” through the money it had earned in the past 21 months of its rule, and was murdering democracy.
He made the remark while addressing the media after holding discussions with AIADMK leaders regarding the Erode (East) byelection.
To a question on Electricity Minister V. Senthilbalaji’s remark that the AIADMK was a sinking ship, Mr. Palaniswami said the Minister often changed his colours, and had been in five parties. “No one knows which party he would be a part of during the next election. Mr. Senthibalaji is not an astrologer, and only the people can decide on their vote. People are angry with the past 21 months of the DMK government,” he said.
“We brought in the Urachikottai drinking water project at a cost of ₹484 crore during the AIADMK rule. The project was completed and a test run was carried out. Since then, no work has been done over the past 21 months of the DMK government. The people of Erode are yet to get drinking water. This is the Dravidian model.
The DMK is using money to get votes. The Election Commission of India is watching it happen. Democracy is being murdered in the Erode (East) constituency. The media should expose the irregularities taking place in this election,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
In response to the DMK alliance’s claim that the AIADMK was a slave of the BJP, Mr. Palaniswami pointed out that the DMK joined the BJP alliance in 1999. “The DMK was part of the Union Cabinet for five years under the BJP alliance. Even when former Minister Murasoli Maran became ill, the DMK did not leave the Cabinet.
The DMK alliance parties do not raise their voice to solve people’s problems. When the AIADMK was in power, the Communist parties protested against the Salem-Chennai eight-lane expressway project. The communists have remained silent since the DMK announced that it was not opposed to the project. They do not care about people’s problems,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
Despite its alliance with the BJP, the AIADMK did not allow Parliament to function for 22 days over the Cauvery water issue. But the DMK, which had 38 MPs, did not raise Tamil Nadu’s issues in Parliament, he claimed.
‘A turning point’
The Erode (East) byelection will be a turning point, former Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan said on Sunday.
He campaigned for AIADMK candidate K.S. Thennarasu at Periyar Nagar Third Cross, Rajakadu Main Road, Govindaraj Nagar, S.K.C. Road, Karuppanasamy Street, 80 Feet Road and Chidambaram Colony, along with former Ministers C.Ve. Shanmugam, Agri S.S. Krishnamoorthy and C. Vijayabaskar.
Many welfare schemes were implemented during the AIADMK regime. However, even after two years in power, the DMK had failed to implement any scheme for the Erode (East) constituency or the district as a whole, he claimed.
