Continuing to train his guns on the DMK in the run-up to the April 19 Lok Sabha poll, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday night hit out at Chief Minister M. K. Stalin on the issue of handling Tamil Nadu’s finances. He said ever since the DMK took over the reins of the State three years ago, it had availed itself of ₹3.50 lakh-crore loan to leave the State’s finances in doldrums, despite not having implemented any major project.
Addressing an election meeting in Tirunelveli town while canvassing votes for AIADMK’s Tirunelveli candidate M. Jancy Rani, he charged that this loan had to be repaid with interest from the money to be collected from the people in the form of hefty taxes.
After making 560 poll promises in 2021, the DMK had forgotten about those. Even after promising all women heads of families a monthly aid of ₹1,000, the assistance was given only to “eligible women”, after the AIADMK raised it repeatedly, he said.
Mr. Palaniswami said his government, with the cordial relationship it had with the Centre, was able to get permission for starting 11 government medical colleges and 6 law colleges in just one year and allocated sufficient funds for establishing these colleges with hospitals.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Stalin, who could not get permission for even one medical college in the past 3 years, is now inaugurating the medical colleges we got during our tenure,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
He also accused the Tamil Nadu government of failing to get NEET waiver and create new employment opportunities even as inflation was impacting the public. Even though DMK’s Gandhi Selvan was the Union Health Minister, he was not bothered to obtain exemption for Tamil Nadu from NEET when it was introduced in December 2010, he said. The DMK that got the people’s vote by promising to get NEET waiver was still “cheating them”, Mr. Palaniswami added.
“However, the AIADMK ensured 7.5% reservation for the government school students in getting medical admission,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
Charging the DMK of nurturing ‘dynasty politics’, the former Chief Minister said even a village-level AIADMK functionary could get elevated to the topmost post in the party through his or her loyal hard work while one family alone in the DMK could occupy the coveted posts of the party and the government.
He also said the cases being fabricated against former AIADMK ministers, MLAs and MPs would never intimidate them.
“Instead, the 2G case, which has been reopened recently, will put the DMK leaders behind the bars of Tihar jail,” he said. He added that if the AIADMK returned to power in 2026, it would probe the alleged links of Mr. Stalin and his minister-son Udhayanidhi with “Jaffer Sadiq, who has been arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in connection with drug trafficking.” He showed photographs in which Sadiq was seen in the company of the Chief Minister and Mr. Udhayanidhi.
