AIADMK co-coordinator and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Sunday called Chief Minister M.K.Stalin’s Dubai trip a family tour rather than a step to attract investment to Tamil Nadu.
Talking to presspersons here, he said it was common for the Chief Minister, Ministers and the Secretaries of the Departments concerned to make such visits. But, in this case, Mr. Stalin’s entire family had travelled to Dubai. People felt that the Chief Minister had gone to Dubai not to attract investment to the State but for his family to invest there.
The Dubai Expo began in October last year, and the Chief Minister inaugurated a Tamil Nadu pavilion at the Expo, which was to conclude by March 31. The Chief Minister had used it as an excuse for his trip, he alleged.
Mr. Palaniswami also played an old video of Mr. Stalin criticising him (Mr. Palaniswami) and his Ministers for travelling to the U.K. and the U.S. He pointed out that he had travelled in common flights and only Ministers and Secretaries had accompanied him.
The former Chief Minister said his government introduced several projects, like Thalaivasal International Livestock Park, based on the insights gained from the trip. They had visited Tesla’s manufacturing facility in the U.S. and tried to make the company invest in Tamil Nadu. But the government had changed by then.
Condemning the sexual assault in Virudhunagar, Mr. Palaniswami demanded that the government take stringent action against the accused or the party would demand a CBI probe. He alleged that law and order had deteriorated in the State.
Asked whether V.K. Sasikala, aide of Jayalalithaa, would be taken back into the AIADMK, he said the party had already passed a resolution against her return.
He condemned the Karnataka government for its attempt to go ahead with the Mekedatu dam project and said the neighbouring State should adhere to the Supreme Court’s order in the Cauvery water dispute
