Panneerselvam proved my accusations right, says Stalin

DMK leader accuses ruling party of sacrificing the State’s interests; Maitreyan says merger was done for the benefit of Tamil Nadu

DMK working president M.K. Stalin.

Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam’s admission that the two factions of the AIADMK were merged at the insistence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered fodder to the government’s critics, who have been accusing it of being a proxy of the BJP-led government at the Centre.

“I have been saying that the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing katta panchayat as far as the AIADMK government is concerned. Now, Mr. Panneerselvam has proved my accusations right by admitting that Mr. Modi brought together the two factions,” DMK working president M.K. Stalin told The Hindu.

‘Point misunderstood’

Alleging that the AIADMK government was sacrificing the interests of Tamil Nadu one by one, he said the verdict in the Cauvery water dispute was yet another example that the State’s interest was taken for granted.

“Slowly, all of Tamil Nadu will be handed over to the BJP at the Centre on a platter,” he said.

AIADMK MP V. Maitreyan, the lone witness to Mr. Panneerselvam’s meeting with the Prime Minister on August 14, said the critics had failed to understand the point that Mr. Modi had not suggested merger of Panneerselvam’s faction with the BJP. “Any political party or leader would not miss any opportunity to run down another political party. It is common in politics. Mr Modi could have asked Mr Panneerselvam to merge his faction with the BJP. On the contrary, he asked him to work amicably with the other faction, in the best interests of Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Maitreyan told

The Hindu.

He said after the demise of Amma (Jayalalithaa), the State and the government were facing a crisis and it became necessary for both the factions to come together for the benefit of people of Tamil Nadu.

“Since the unity of the party was paramount we followed a give-and-take policy and came together. By doing so, he avoided another general election to Tamil Nadu Assembly in the short span of one year,” Mr. Maitreyan said.

Asked about the allegation that the State government had remained a mute spectator to the policies of the Centre without expressing its protest, Mr Maitreyan said whenever there was a need to register protest, the Tamil Nadu government had done it on appropriate platforms. “But the era of regional parties and State governments constantly bringing pressure on the Centre, as in a coalition government, does not exist now,” he said, explaining that Tamil Nadu alone could not claim exemption from NEET, while all other States had agreed to implement it.

“But in the case of National Health Protection scheme, a state could opt out and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah have decided to do it,” he said.