DMK working president M.K. Stalin on Wednesday charged that Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and his deputy O. Panneerselvam were pretending to be asleep on the Cauvery issue.
When asked about the duo’s charge that the DMK had failed to constitute the Cauvery Management Board when in power at the State and Centre, he told reporters at the airport here that those who were actually sleeping could be woken up. But those pretending to be asleep would never wake up. “The Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister have no guts to question the Central government,” he said adding that he did not have to answer their charges.
Asked about the ruling party’s allegation that the DMK’s protests were derailing the government’s efforts, Mr. Stalin said the cabinet could not even pass a resolution condemning the Centre. To a question on when his campaign for the formation of the CMB would begin, he said a decision would be taken at the all-party meeting convened by the DMK on Thursday.
In a separate statement, Mr. Stalin asked people to fight against the anti-people policies of the government in a democratic way and not to sacrifice their lives for any cause.
On youth’s suicide
The DMK leader said that he was shocked to learn that a Salem youth, M. Prabu, had committed suicide condemning the failure of the Centre to form the CMB. Expressing his condolences to the family, he said the peaceful protests proved that Cauvery was a lifeline for the Tamils. Therefore, the DMK has been organising peaceful protests in a democratic way from April 1 without giving any space for violence.
