COIMBATORE: Health Minister K G Arunraj on Friday said that AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami's own party functionaries lacked confidence in his leadership.

Referring to Palaniswami's remarks that Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s victory is a jackpot, Arunraj said the victory was earned through hard work. “All promises made during the campaign were being fulfilled. Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay had assured people that not even a rupee of public money would be misused,” he said.

On the Mekedatu issue, the Minister said the government consulted representatives of all political parties and then passed a resolution in the assembly after considering their views. “The State government will take all efforts to safeguard the rights of people,” he said.

Referring to the allegations that a TVK MLA from Kallakurichi had sent obscene messages to a woman Collector, Arunraj said the legislator had denied sending any such messages. He accused a DMK MLA from the region of making an issue out of the matter and urged political parties to verify the facts rather than issue statements based on unverified social media claims.

Arunraj said Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay had instructed Collectors and police officials to take impartial action against anyone involved in criminal activities, regardless of political affiliation, and added, “This would help bring down crime rates gradually and strengthen public confidence in the government.”