AIADMK interim general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday accused Chief Minister M.K. Stalin of having proposed to hike the power tariff in an “inhumane” manner.
The move came at a time when people of the State were still reeling under the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed hike was in the range of 12% to 52%, he said, addressing the protesters near the Chennai Collectorate. The protest was part of the AIADMK’s State-wide agitation to highlight the issues of the power tariff hike proposal, the property tax increase and rising inflation.
Comparing the AIADMK government’s policy with that of the DMK government in the area of electricity, he recalled that even in the absence of any public demand, Jayalalithaa, while being the Chief Minister in 2016, had approved the provision of 100 units of power supply free to the domestic category.
Mr. Stalin was “getting rattled” by the agitations against the State government. This was why cases were being filed against functionaries and members of the AIADMK. “We have the strength to withstand this,” he said.
Mr. Palaniswami said the DMK had captured power “by accident” as people were of the view that they had been “misled” into supporting the party. The party in power was carrying out actions which were “contrary to its electoral promises”. At the end of his speech, which lasted nearly 50 minutes, he was seen as having some discomfort. He was provided drinking water immediately.
D. Jayakumar, organisation secretary, said that as the AIADMK did not “relish” any third party mediation with regard to its internal affairs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was scheduled to reach Chennai on Thursday, would not make any intervention.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the sidelined former interim general secretary, V.K. Sasikala, appealed to women to achieve success in life by remaining patient, not losing confidence and working resolutely to overcome any challenge.
