Taking pride in his government completing 16 months in power, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday taunted the DMK, saying the AIADMK dispensation was strong, and “cannot be destabilised even if 1,000 [DMK leader] Stalins emerge.”
“The present government could never be toppled by Mr. Stalin's conspiracies as long as it is guided by the souls of the late [former Chief Ministers] MGR and Jayalalithaa, and supported by 1.5 crore cadre,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
He was addressing a public meeting in Mayiladuthurai town to hail the “victory” of Tamil Nadu in its struggle for rights over the Cauvery river.
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Taking a dig at Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran for “co-conspiring to bring down my government”, Mr. Palaniswami questioned his detractor's connection with the party. Without Mr. Dhinakaran in the party, the cadre were enjoying absolute freedom, he said, adding that a thousand Palaniswamis would surface in the AIADMK.
Mr. Palaniswami emphasised that full credit for the positive developments in the Cauvery row should go to the AIADMK.
“The AIADMK alone has found a solution to the Cauvery row, which has been smouldering for 38 years and affecting farmers in the delta districts. People know whose struggle has eventually fetched results,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
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The DMK, he alleged, had conspired against farmers in the delta districts. “In 1971, the then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi “arbitrarily” withdrew a petition from the Supreme Court, which was filed a year before, based on resolutions adopted in the Assembly, buckling under the pressure exerted by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The party also failed to uphold the rights of the State on the issue when it was in power in Tamil Nadu and was an alliance partner in the Central government. Had Mr. Stalin gone on a padayatra back then, rather than indulging in such gimmicks now, Tamil Nadu would have benefitted much earlier,” he said.
‘Relentless struggle’
The latest development in the Cauvery dispute was an outcome of the “relentless legal struggle of the Amma (Jayalalithaa) government after the Central government turned unresponsive to Tamil Nadu's repeated representations, the CM said.
Never before in the history of the Indian Parliament had the proceedings of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha been adjourned continuously for 22 days due to the pressure exerted by the AIADMK MPs fighting for the State’s rights over Cauvery water. On the other hand, the DMK did not care to utilise opportunities for securing Tamil Nadu’s water rights when it was in power. The DMK was not bothered about farmers’ welfare, he said.
Irrespective of which party was in power, water from the Mettur dam could be released in June as per schedule only if the water level [at the dam] reached 90 feet, Mr. Palaniswami said.
“People elected DMK MLAs to get solutions to problems through the Assembly. The ‘model assembly session’ of the DMK was mere escapism,” he said.
Mr. Palaniswami said his government was hopeful of releasing adequate water for kuruvai cultivation this year, citing indications of a good monsoon.