T.N. Assembly election: DMK heading a weak alliance, says Palaniswami

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami assailed the DMK-led alliance at an election campaign meeting here on Thursday, dubbing it a “sad alliance” that had left the leaders of the parties in the front in “tears”.

Alluding to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s comments that the AIADMK had pledged itself with the BJP, Mr. Palaniswami said the AIADMK had never pledged itself in the past nor would it do so with anyone at any point in the future, “quite unlike the DMK that had been a slave of the Congress”.

While the DMK struggled at seat-sharing with its alliance partners, who had travelled with the party for more than a decade, the AIADMK had discussed and finalised its seat-sharing in two hours. “We had announced that the AIADMK is leading the alliance, and the AIADMK is forming the government, and that EPS will be the Chief Minister,” he added.

Asserting that the DMK is heading a “weak alliance”, Mr. Palaniswami said the same old parties had stuck together, except with fewer seats, and the only new party that had joined it was the DMDK, with a vote share of half-a-percent in the 2021 election. On the contrary, the AIADMK-led front and its constituents have a larger vote share. The DMK alliance, despite claiming to be an “alliance of principle”, was one that had parties with discontentment. “The VCK is fighting alone in Puducherry, while the Congress and the Communists are fighting each other in Kerala,” he said.

Campaigning in Dharmapuri, Mr. Palaniswami said the constituency is a fortress of the AIADMK that defeated the DMK in 2021. “You gave us the biggest victory even in 2021. But now, after five years of ‘anti-people rule’ marked by protests from various sections, it was for the people now to ensure that the DMK lost its deposit.”

Rising debt

Mr. Palaniswami also alleged that the Stalin-led government had ensured the State had surpassed all the other States in the quantum of debts it had piled up in the last five years.

He hit out at the Chief Minister over claims of women’s safety in the State. “It was not the Opposition, but the government’s own statistics that has reported a high number of crimes against women and children.”

He listed the promises the DMK had failed to keep. “There were five lakh vacancies in government departments, which included one lakh posts caused by retirement. Of these, only 94,000 vacancies were filled,” Mr. Palaniswami added.

Mr. Palaniswami also alleged that the Stalin-led government had ensured the State had surpassed all the other States in the quantum of debts it had piled up in the last five years.

He hit out at the Chief Minister over claims of women’s safety in the State. “It was not the Opposition, but the government’s own statistics that has reported a high number of crimes against women and children.” He listed the promises the DMK had failed to keep. “There were five-lakh vacancies in government departments, which included one lakh posts caused by retirement. Of these, only 94,000 vacancies were filled,” Mr. Palaniswami said.