Days after exiting the BJP-led NDA, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday said it was the decision of the “two crore AIADMK cadre”. He also urged the minorities to support his party.
Addressing members of the party’s booth committee at Suramangalam in Salem, he said the AIADMK would form a grand alliance for the upcoming parliamentary election. “Understanding the feelings of two crore AIADMK cadre, we severed ties with the BJP and came out of the NDA. This is not the decision of the general secretary; this is the decision of the cadre. I want to put an end to the claim being made in television debates that I am maintaining silence on this issue,” he said.
Alluding to the assertion that it would be difficult for the AIADMK to face the Lok Sabha election without projecting a prime ministerial candidate, he said political parties in Odisha, West Bengal, Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were facing elections without announcing a PM candidate.
“The AIADMK will fight the parliamentary election to protect the State’s rights. Sometimes, we have alliances for the benefit of the people. We will reflect the people’s demands in Parliament,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
Earlier, addressing the Salem urban and district booth committee members at a wedding hall near Hasthampatti, Mr. Palaniswami said the AIADMK was protecting people belonging to minority communities. He alleged that the DMK had come to power by making false promises, and that it had betrayed the people in the name of the “Dravidian model” of governance.
He urged the booth committee members to work for the victory of the party and the candidates of its [proposed] alliance. “The booth committee is the base for a political party. Its members should explain to the people why the DMK’s policies are wrong,” he said.
According to him, the DMK had fulfilled only 10% of its election promises, but “Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has claimed that 95% of election promises have been fulfilled”. The details of the unfulfilled promises would be provided to AIADMK booth committee members, he said. “The upcoming parliamentary election is not an ordinary election. It will be a tough contest. For the AIADMK alliance to win, its members should work hard,” Mr. Palaniswami added.
The AIADMK leader said that only 36 feet of water was available at the Mettur dam. If the water level dropped by six feet more, there will be a shortage of drinking water, he claimed. “In Tamil Nadu, 24 districts get water from the Mettur dam and the Cauvery. The dam would receive water only after seven months. But the Chief Minister does not care about this, and is only thinking about his son (Udhayanidhi Stalin). Already, the law and order situation is the worst it has ever been. We should take these issues to the people,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
However, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Minister K.N. Nehru, who was also in Salem, said that as far as Chennai was concerned, the Chembarambakkam reservoir had reached its capacity, and there would be no drinking water issue in the city. In Coimbatore, work on a drinking water scheme would begin in 15 days. Review meetings were conducted in Madurai, Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi, and instructions were given to officials to repair any damage to drinking water pipes. “There is no issue with water supply across the State. There is sufficient water in the Mettur dam,” he said.
The Meteorological Department had said that monsoon rain would begin on October 15, and adequate rainfall would occur in November and December, he said. “We can supply drinking water for a year even if there is no rain,” Mr. Nehru added.
