Stalin gives point-by-point rebuttal to Chief Minister

The meeting will be held at DMK headquarters Anna Arivalayam at 10 am on April 15 (Wednesday). Stalin also advised the CM to embrace all political parties in the emergency situation.

Slamming Palaniswami for calling him ‘opportunistic,’ Stalin on Sunday, clarified that he had never accused the state of not doing anything and he had only pointed to the level of preparedness it should be in due to severity of crisis.

Listing out the contradictions in the Chief Minister’s statements, Stalin said the CM had claimed that checks were being done at inter-state borders and at airports since January, but he had appealed to people who had been abroad to come forward for treatment on April 1.

Palaniswami had claimed that orders were placed for testing kits, protective gears and medicine in January, but he told media on March 30 that one crore face masks, 25 lakh N95 masks and 2,500 ventilators and 30,000 testing kits were to be procured and he had sought funds from the PM on April 3. “Which is true? As a Leader of Opposition should I not raise these questions? What is opportunistic in this? I am raising these questions at the right time,” Stalin remarked, advising the CM to self-introspect.

Recalling how the state had declined his request to wind up the Assembly session early before obliging them shortly after, Stalin also wondered who had refused to convene an all-party meeting on March 29 and later convened a meeting of faith leaders on April 3?

Who engaged in opportunistic politics and failed to condemn the Centre for suspending MPLADS for 2 years even after DMK MPs allotted several crores from it, the LoP sought to know, alleging that the CM had unilaterally taken over Rs 1 crore from each MLALADS funds to prevent DMK MLAs from serving public.

Criticising that the CM had converted the Chief Secretary into his spokesperson, Stalin questioned the AIADMK regime’s silence on extending the lockdown even after BJP ruled Karnataka and a few other states have done the same. “Has he eliminated corona threat completely. He did not attempt to avail funds from the Center owing to fear.

He is pleading to people to contribute for CM’s fund because he lacks the courage to ask funds from the Centre, Stalin alleged, cautioning that the DMK would make the AIADMK regime work for people.

“Therefore, you should give up the mindset of ridiculing the opposition party and play cheap politics and come forward to work like a responsible and duty conscious CM to rescue people of TN from the greatest disaster faced by mankind,” Stalin added.

Later, in another statement, Stalin took exception to the government’s advice to NGOs and parties helping people on their own.