THOOTHUKUDI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday asserted that there was no dissatisfaction among alliance partners over the allocation of seats for the upcoming Assembly polls.
Taking a swipe at the DMK-led alliance, he said the seat-sharing talks dragged on for 23 days and were marked by "war of words" between the Congress and DMK.
"At one point, Congress was on the verge of quitting the DMK alliance. The Congress leader and the person in charge (for Tamil Nadu) were expressing different opinions. But in the AIADMK alliance, there are no such issues. There is no dissatisfaction in the AIADMK alliance," he told reporters here.
Responding to remarks by TVK chief Vijay that his party would contest independently and the fight is primarily between the TVK and the DMK, Palaniswami said, "... He is new. He will understand the realities only after the elections are over."
Addressing the cadre in the poll campaign in Kanniyakumari, he recalled that heavy rains caused widespread devastation in the district in 2023. Palaniswami criticised the DMK government for "failing" to take any precautionary measures in the southern districts despite warnings from the Meteorological Department of heavy rains in Thoothukudi, Tenkasi, and Kanniyakumari.
"Under the AIADMK rule, as soon as the storm warning was issued by the IMD, officers were deployed. But in the DMK regime, no such measures were taken..." he said.
He added that the AIADMK government had taken flood mitigation work in Thoothukudi, including desilting of the Buckle canal, with 80 per cent of the work completed. "If the remaining 20 per cent of the work was completed following the change in government in May 2021, the rainwater would have drained effectively."
Blaming the DMK government for the floods and hardships faced by the people, he alleged, "Even in such a difficult situation, the Chief Minister did not meet the people."
Palaniswami also flayed the DMK government over the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu, citing the recent incident in Vilathikulam as an example.
"This incident reflects the prevailing law and order situation in Tamil Nadu," he added.