COIMBATORE: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday accused Chief Minister MK Stalin of attempting to gain mileage out of the Karur tragedy.

Addressing a public campaign in Dharmapuri, the Leader of the Opposition said Stalin rushed to Karur on the same night following the tragedy. “But, why didn’t you go and console the affected when 68 people died in the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy? Most of them were poor Dalits. You went now to Karur eyeing the 2026 assembly polls,” he said

He added that it was the government's duty to protect people participating in public meetings and rallies.

Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister MK Stalin on retrieving the Katchatheevu islet, the AIADMK leader claimed that it was during the Congress-DMK rule that the islet was ceded to Sri Lanka. “Despite being part of a ruling coalition in the Centre, why didn’t you take any efforts to retrieve the islet? Are you now enacting a drama? You have no locus-standi to speak on the issue,” he said. Furthermore, Palaniswami stated that it was the AIADMK that moved the court to retrieve the islet. “Whether in power or not, AIADMK will always stand for the welfare of people,” he said.

He claimed the party’s principles should be permanent, while alliances may change at the time of polls to defeat enemies.