AIADMK coordinator, O. Panneerselvam and co-coordinator, Edappadi K Palaniswami, on Wednesday accused the ruling DMK of having carried out “unprecedented violence and atrocities” during the rural local body elections and said the party had “reduced the State Election Commission (SEC) into its puppet” to register success in the polls.
In a statement, the two leaders gave an account of how their party had protested from the beginning against the way the elections were held. When their party was in power, polls to the Assembly, Lok Sabha and rural local bodies were all held in one phase but, in respect of nine districts, polling was sought to be held in two phases, against which the party had moved the Madras High Court.
The SEC had given an undertaking to the High Court that it would hold the elections, as directed by the Court. “Despite the SEC being an autonomous body, the DMK has unleashed large-scale violence during the elections and made the panel into its puppet,” they alleged.
Though the AIADMK took to the notice of the SEC the rejection of nomination papers of its candidates for two district panchayat wards and four panchayat union wards in Kallakurichi district, no action was taken. Likewise, the panel did not take any steps against the Collector of Ranipet district, Baskara Pandian, who, according to the Opposition party, had sided with the ruling party.
Referring to a few other instances of “irregularities” in Namakkal and Tirupathur districts, the AIADMK leaders alleged that many agents belonging to the party were not allowed inside the counting centres. The media were also not permitted. So far, their party’s legal wing member, R.M. Babu Murugavel, had given seven petitions to the SEC. The party would establish before the High Court that “the DMK has achieved its victory through the backdoor.”
Thanking the party’s volunteers for having worked for the elections, the two leaders asserted that “our [the AIADMK’s] vote has never been for the DMK.”
