AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday urged the people to support his party in the Lok Sabha election to ensure that the rights of Tamil Nadu farmers were protected and their issues were raised in Parliament.
Addressing a rally titled, ‘Thamizhar Urimai Meetpom, Thamizhnadu Kappom’, organised by the AIADMK in Thanjavur, he detailed the efforts made by the party to protect the rights of farmers in the delta region in relation to the Cauvery water-sharing dispute.
Condemning the ‘Dravida Model’ government of the DMK for not taking a firm stand on the Mekedatu issue, he promised that the Godavari-Cauvery river-linking project would be implemented if the AIADMK returned to power [in 2026] with the support of farmers.
While farmers’ prospects were being ruined due to mismanagement/corruption in paddy procurement, the future of the younger generation was in peril due to “unchecked sale of drugs”, he alleged.
Stating that he was persistently drawing the attention of the State government to the drug menace to save the younger generation, the Leader of the Opposition said that his accusations had turned out to be true, with the unearthing of a drug racket involving a DMK functionary.
What was more worrying was that mediapersons were being attacked by DMK sympathisers when they tried to bring the issue to the notice of the public, he said.