Stalin criticises EPS for surrendering TN’s rights

Condemning Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami for discussing AIADMK affairs instead of welfare schemes for the State during his visit to the national capital, DMK president M K Stalin on Sunday said the people of Tamil Nadu would not pardon him for surrendering the State’s rights to the Centre.

Describing the 29-point charter of demands submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Palaniswami as an “old wine in new bottle”, Stalin, in a statement issued here, said, “The same petition has been submitted for the past three years. They have only edited and repackaged the old petitions this time. People will not pardon the CM who surrendered the state’s rights to Delhi and requested the Centre to somehow save his Chief Ministership.”

Accusing the Centre of meting out step-motherly treatment to Tamil Nadu, Stalin said the Centre owed Rs 17,350 crore to the State under various heads, including local body funds and post-matric scholarship awarded to SC/ST students and compensation for GST implementation.

Referring to the ‘shocking’ statement of Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy that TN’s permission was not necessary to construct the dam in Mekedatu, Stalin, who is also the Leader of Opposition, said Palaniswami had not even registered his condemnation to Kumaraswamy’s statement, which was against the Constitution and spirit of federalism, during the Niti Aayog meet.

“He did not even register a joint condemnation after consulting his Kerala and Puducherry counterparts,” the DMK president said, wondering why the CM had failed to protect the interests of the state farmers by voicing his opposition in the meeting attended by the PM.

Recalling the suicide of medical aspirants after the declaration of NEET results, Stalin said that it was disheartening that a line urging the PM to get the President’s nod for the unanimous resolution of the State Assembly demanding exemption to TN from NEET was not included in the CM’s petition.

“Preparing and submitting such a letter after witnessing the suicides shows that they are not concerned about student’s welfare,” the LoP remarked, adding that the CM has squandered the opportunity to safeguard the State’s rights on various issues by failing to effectively rake up the issue at the Niti Aayog meet.