Edappadi K Palaniswami vows AIADMK win in two bypolls, attacks TVK government

CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday said his party would field candidates and win the by-elections in Madurantakam and Dharapuram, alleging that the vacancies were created after its MLAs were made to resign through horse-trading in an attempt to retain the ruling TVK government.

Talking to reporters at the Secretariat on the concluding day of the Assembly’s Budget session, Palaniswami accused the government and the principal Opposition DMK of repeatedly trading charges and wasting valuable House time instead of discussing people’s issues.

He said the Assembly might function for 10 hours a day, but only about three hours were devoted to public issues. He also alleged that ministers failed to provide department-specific replies, with only about three ministers answering most questions.

“If ministers concerned answer questions relating to their departments, only then can solutions be found,” he said.

Palaniswami said questions raised during the police demands for grants, including those concerning an alleged online investment fraud in which he claimed about Rs 1,000 crore had been lost, promotions and pay for police personnel and fraudulent chit schemes, had not received proper replies.

Calling the TVK government an ineffective government, he criticised it over law and order, corruption, inflation and farmers’ problems. He alleged that murders, robberies, thefts and sexual-harassment incidents had increased and said preventing crime was the government’s responsibility.

The former CM alleged that paddy procured from farmers in the Cauvery delta had been left in the open and damaged by rain, particularly in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Mayiladuthurai. He also demanded adequate water from the Mettur reservoir for samba cultivation, saying 40-45 days of supply would be insufficient for the crop’s 120-day cycle.

Palaniswami questioned the need to shift the Chief Minister’s office, saying successive Chief Ministers had used the same room since C N Annadurai. He described the government as a reels government and accused it of relying on borrowing to fund new schemes.

He said new parties joining the AIADMK-led front would be welcomed. Asked whether the DMK would be accepted, he smiled and replied: “Will the DMK come?”