Palaniswami slams Stalin for dubbing AIADMK as 'anti-Muslim'

Addressing a rally in Ambur, the AIADMK chief gave a point-by-point rebuttal to several accusations made by Stalin.

Vellore: AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday lashed out at DMK chief M K Stalin, saying the chief minister was painting his party as "anti-Muslim" just because an alliance was formed with the BJP.

Addressing an election rally at Ambur near here, the AIADMK chief gave a point-by-point rebuttal to several accusations made by Stalin. The leader of the opposition said that Stalin says "Edappadi Palaniswami has seen many failures", and this statement smacked of arrogance, and he needs to go back into the past.

In the 2011 Assembly election, DMK did not even get the status of the main opposition party. From 2011 to 2021, AIADMK won many elections, and importantly, it won even without an alliance.

The AIADMK chief said, "Not just the Assembly election, in the 2014 Lok Sabha election as well, we won 37 seats. You did not win a single seat then. You did not win many by-elections, and you didn’t win local body elections either. In the cooperative society elections, AIADMK won 98 per cent. After 10 years (2011-21) in the wilderness, does DMK have the right to talk about us?" Palaniswami said, somehow, when the DMK got a chance to rule, it could have used it to deliver good governance. However, it did not do that.

He alleged: "Back then, when you were the opposition leader, you came to power by speaking deceptively, cheating the people. But you have not fulfilled your promises. Farmers, sanitation workers, doctors, nurses, and government employees are all staging protests. You promised to implement the old pension scheme, but you just deceived them. Do we want a government that cheated the people again?"

On the Rs 1,000 monthly assistance to women 'rights grant' scheme --Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai-- Palaniswami said his party made the government deliver that promise.

He said: "I raised that issue in the Assembly. Only because of AIADMK's pressure did they give it after 28 months. He did not give it willingly." Claiming that people suffered in the DMK rule, Palaniswami levelled several allegations, including deterioration of law and order and crimes, including those against women and children and prevalence of drugs.

"When AIADMK assumes power, ganja will be eradicated in 3 months. In the AIADMK rule, the caste-wise census will be conducted in Tamil Nadu, and the Centre has already said that the caste-wise census will be held across India.

Palaniswami appealed to the people to "put an end to family rule through elections and support good governance."

In an appeal, he said: "Minority communities must think. We protected you like the eyelid protects the eye. How big a lie is it that if we ally with the BJP, we will not protect Muslims? Ideology is one thing, and forging an electoral alliance is another thing. Alliance for polls is only to prevent votes from getting split. The AIADMK’s policy will not change."

Palaniswami said the DMK assumed power by getting the votes of the minorities after deceiving them. He claimed a police SI in Tirunelveli appealed to the chief minister saying his life was in danger, and filed a complaint with the police.

"But no one took notice. The next day, after finishing his prayers, he was brutally murdered. Is this how you protect minorities? Listing out a slew of welfare schemes implemented for the Muslims during the AIADMK regime, Palaniswami questioned DMK's track record and slammed Stalin for alleging that the AIADMK was anti-Muslim just because it had an alliance with the BJP for elections."

"Stalin is painting us as anti-Muslim just because we have formed an alliance. DMK had an alliance with the BJP for the 1999 Lok Sabha election and the 2001 Assembly election. Was the BJP a good party back then?"

Against the background of CM Stalin's claim that the PM only spoke of NDA and did not even say that Edappadi Palaniswami was the CM candidate, the AIADMK chief underlined that the "AIADMK will form the government," and that he was the chief ministerial candidate.

"Stalin says it is Tamil Nadu versus Delhi. This is an assembly election. You cheated the people once and came to power; you won’t be able to do it again," Palaniswami claimed.