The State government will never give up the rights of Muslims no matter what the situation, Chief Minister and AIADMK co-coordinator Edappadi K. Palaniswami told Jamaath leaders in Coimbatore on Saturday.
As part of his two-day election campaign of Coimbatore district on Saturday, he addressed around 100 functionaries from the All Jamaath Federation at a wedding hall on Podanur Main Road in Kurichi Pirivu. Mr. Palaniswami said that some Muslims are “afraid” about certain laws introduced by the Central government. “Nobody can chase anyone out. Everyone born on this land has the right to live here,” he said.
The Chief Minister also announced that the State government will increase the annual subsidy to Hajj pilgrimage from ₹6 crore to Rs. 10 crore. The government had sanctioned ₹5.37 crore to restore the lake in Nagore dargah which was damaged due to heavy rains recently. A building for Hajj pilgrims to stay will soon be constructed in Chennai, Mr. Palaniswami said.
‘Corruption charges false’
Mr. Palaniswami began his campaign at Raja Street in Coimbatore on Saturday morning, where he asserted that the corruption charges against the AIADMK Ministers, submitted as a memorandum by DMK President M.K. Stalin to Governor Banwarilal Purohit, were false. The memorandum was an “attempt to distract the public” as 13 former Ministers from the DMK were facing cases in courts, he said dismissing the Makkal Grama Sabhas convened by Mr. Stalin across the State as “drama.”
At Selvapuram, he claimed that instances of land-grabbing will increase in the State if the DMK comes to power. He also alleged that the DMK MPs elected to the Lok Sabha in 2019 did not voice the concerns of the State in the Parliament. Addressing voters at Kuniamuthur, Mr. Palaniswami asserted that the DMK will “split by itself” and called the voters to “put an end to dynastic politics” in the upcoming Assembly elections.