AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday questioned Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s silence on the audio clips in which a voice, purportedly of Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, claims that two of Mr. Stalin’s close family members had amassed a huge amount of wealth in a year. Mr. Rajan has claimed that the audio is fabricated.
Addressing a May Day public meeting organised by the AIADMK trade union wing, Anna Thozhir Sangam, at Dadagapatti in Salem, Mr. Palaniswami claimed that the voice was indeed Mr. Rajan’s. “He claimed in the audio clips that Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and his brother-in-law Sabareesan had amassed massive wealth in the past one year. We did not say this; the DMK Minister did,” he said.
He wondered why Mr. Stalin, who issued statements frequently, failed to respond to the clips. “Since there has been no reply, the clips are true,” he inferred.
Mr. Palaniswami alleged that the DMK’s alliance partners would not talk about the issue as they were getting “various benefits”. The role of the Opposition parties was to shed light on issues, he said, adding that the AIADMK would be the first to do so. “When Mr. Stalin was the Leader of the Opposition, he spoke about corruption in the AIADMK. But why is he silent now,” he asked.
Referring to the murder of a village administrative officer (VAO) in Thoothukudi by the sand mafia and the threats issued to a VAO in Omalur for complaining about gravel smuggling, Mr. Palaniswami alleged that law and order had deteriorated in the State.
Condemning the delay in arresting a DMK ward councillor in the Virudhachalam Municipality for sexually abusing a five-year-old girl, Mr. Palaniswami claimed that a case was registered and the accused was arrested only after he decided to raise the issue in the Assembly.
