Chief Minister and AIADMK co-coordinator Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Sunday appealed to the voters not to support the DMK, claiming that the party’s functionaries stood as sureties to “contract killers accused of involvement in the Kodanad estate murder case”.
His allegation comes against the backdrop of claims made by two accused — Sayan and Valayar Manoj — linking him to the heist-cum-murder case. The two were arrested but subsequently released on bail by a magistrate in Chennai. The Chief Minister alleged that many of the accused in the case were hardened criminals facing several cases in Kerala.
“When these criminals were arrested by the Tamil Nadu police after they levelled baseless allegations (against me) in a press conference organised by a former journalist and produced before the court, DMK men having close links with (party president) Stalin and (former Chennai Mayor) M. Subramanian stood as guarantors to get them enlarged on bail. Now, it has been proven that the DMK is the driving force behind this drama,” he alleged.
“If you support the candidates of the DMK [who are] backing the criminals in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, what will happen to you? Therefore, support the candidates of the AIADMK, which runs your government and takes care of your welfare,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
Showing photographs of the sureties with Mr. Stalin and Mr. Subramanian, he vowed that his government would unearth all the facts pertaining to the Kodanad affair.
Addressing party founder M.G. Ramachandran’s 102nd birth anniversary event in Tirunelveli, he alleged that the DMK, which shared power in various Union governments for 14 years, did not take any steps to resolve inter-State disputes like the Cauvery, Mullaperiyar and Palar water sharing issues.
He expressed the hope that the Global Investors Meet, scheduled for January 23 and 24, would attract investments to the tune of over ₹2 lakh crore, providing direct employment to over 3 lakh youth.
“Since Amma ’s (Jayalalithaa’s) government is maintaining an excellent law and order situation in the State and is providing quality power at the desired quantity, investors are coming to Tamil Nadu, a power-surplus State, to make hefty investments,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
