COIMBATORE: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday accused the DMK of working against the interests of farmers by curtailing several key projects that were brought by his government to improve irrigation.
Addressing a campaign rally at Gobichettipalayam in Erode district, Palaniswami said his regime had formed a high-level committee to engage with the Kerala government on implementing the Pandiyar-Punnampuzha project to divert surplus water flowing into the sea toward the Bhavani Sagar dam for irrigation purposes. But the DMK government failed to take it to a logical conclusion.
He highlighted the proposed ‘Nadanthai Vazhi Cauvery’ scheme, which aimed to curb pollution of the Cauvery river. He alleged that the DMK had curtailed the 'Kudimaramathu' scheme focused on desilting water bodies and enhancing their storage capacity, which would also help in improving groundwater levels. All of these projects, he charged, were killed by the Stalin government overlooking public interest and for plain political reasons.
Palaniswami also trained his guns on former party colleague KA Sengottaiyan, accusing him of working in tandem with the DMK to weaken the AIADMK.
He said the TVK leader has acted as a covert ally of the DMK.
Questioning Sengottaiyan’s silence against the ruling party inside the assembly, Palaniswami said “A person with such duplicity has no place in the AIADMK. You treated the people of this constituency like slaves,” he alleged, adding that Sengottaiyan’s political rise was propelled by the hard work of the party cadre.