CM goes full throttle to pay back rivals

“There were Ettappans (traitors – recalling the historic character who helped the British capture freedom fighter Veerapandi Kattabomman) in the party. There are Ettappans inside the party. No matter how many Ettappans arise, they cannot destabilise this government,” he said, winning a strong round of applause and whistles from the party cadre. 

He called himself the best example of hard work and loyalty that has elevated him to the  position of the Chief Minister. He also praised AIADMK’s general secretary V K Sasikala and claimed that traitors in the party are functioning as hirelings of the DMK and are trying to destroy the AIADMK government.

Stating that DMK working president and leader of the opposition MK Stalin has no right to call the current government a ‘benami government’ or ‘xerox government’, he said Stalin was trying to come to power through the back door and that this will not happen. Recalling how former minister and fellow district MLA (Mettur) S Semmalai had switched loyalty to Panneerselvam, the CM called him a chameleon and said that Semmalai was with the Janaki faction in 1989 and even burnt the effigy of the late J Jayalalithaa. 

Meanwhile, he even slammed Panneerselvam and said that his predecessor was not a Jayalalithaa loyalist. Reacting to actor Kamal Haasan’s recent statement that the AIADMK should not continue in power, Palanisamy said that the actor has forgotten how far Jayalalithaa had helped him during the release of his film Viswaroopam. 

On the RK Nagar by-poll he said that the AIADMK will emerge victorious with a huge margin. Earlier, during the meeting, he distributed welfare benefits and assistance to 28,669 people as part of Jayalalithaa’s 69th birthday celebrations. At Coimbatore, he assurde the farmers that the Athikadavu-Avinashi Groundwater Recharge Scheme would be implemented without delay.