Rejecting criticism that he was not opposing, and was afraid of, BJP leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday said that if he were the Chief Minister, he would oppose anyone that tried to implement any project that adversely affected the people of Tamil Nadu.
“[There is a criticism that] Edappadi Palaniswami is not opposing Modi and that he is afraid of him. What is there to oppose? Are we in power to oppose? Only those in power can oppose. How can those in the opposition oppose?” Mr. Palaniswami asked, while campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls at Sholinghur in Ranipet district.
“If I am the Chief Minister like you [DMK leader M.K. Stalin], we will definitely oppose if there are attempts to implement any project which would affect the people of Tamil Nadu. We will raise our voice against anyone,” Mr. Palaniswami emphasised.
When the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Cauvery issue was not implemented by the BJP government, Mr. Palaniswami said: “We were in alliance with the BJP. We requested them many times. But, they did not listen to us.” Recalling the AIADMK MPs staging a protest in the Lok Sabha for 22 days, Mr. Palaniswami said the BJP government “gave in” and the necessary bodies were constituted.
Later in the day, when campaigning near Vellore, Mr. Palaniswami referred to comments made by DMK candidate for Vellore about women over receiving monthly rights grant of Rs 1,000 and by a Minister on women availing “free” bus ride, and said: “As if they are giving money from their house. This is the money from the government.”
The AIADMK always praised women, while the DMK partymen were degrading women, Mr. Palaniswami charged. “This is the DMK trait and it cannot be changed. Women should think about it when you cast your vote,” he appealed to them.
The AIADMK has always been protecting minorities and “if something happens to them, we will stand by them”, Mr. Palaniswami said. He listed out the welfare measures implemented by the erstwhile AIADMK governments under then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and himself. The AIADMK is beyond religion and caste, he maintained.
Mr. Stalin was pretending to oppose the BJP but had double standards and was submissive, Mr. Palaniswami alleged and further observed true opposition to Mr. Modi was supposed to be like that of former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, who boycotted Mr. Modi’s events.
Referring to the proposal of Andhra Pradesh to construct a check dam across the Palar, Mr. Palaniswami contended if it is constructed, “not even a drop of water would be here”. He further charged that the DMK government had not taken steps to stop the Andhra government from going ahead with it.
Both the national parties -- be it the BJP or the Congress have been turning a “step-motherly attitude” towards Tamil Nadu when the State was hit by natural disasters, Mr. Palaniswami alleged and further reasoned: “This is exactly why the AIADMK is not in alliance with the national parties”.
Calling the NDA nominee a “chameleon”, Mr. Palaniswami questioned when the PMK was for caste based census, how could the party join the alliance with the BJP, which was against the caste census.
