Chennai: Close on the heels of DMK leader A Raja tendering apology over his remarks on Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami’s mother, a war of words has erupted between Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M K Stalin and AIADMK’s joint coordinator EPS.
Speaking at their respective election campaign meetings, the two leaders came down heavily on each other.
Palaniswami said, “Stalin has no guts to question his partymen over their demeaning comments on women. How will there be safety for women if the DMK comes to power.”
For his part, Stalin said, “Law and order has taken a beating in Tamilnadu. Is the Chief Minister not ashamed to claim women are safe in the State under his government?”
With his derogatory remarks about Palaniswami’s birth snowballing into a major row that might even cost the DMK heavily in the 6 April Assembly polls, DMK MP and former Union Minister A Raja, tendered an open apology to the CM on Monday.
His apology from the ‘bottom of the heart’ came a day after Palaniswami turned emotional and shed tears after the remarks made by the DMK deputy general secretary went viral, and protests by the ruling AIADMK prompting the police to file cases against him in Chennai and Ariyalur on a complaint filed by the AIADMK to Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo.
While campaigning in Thousand Lights constituency in the city, Raja, who was cited as one of the accused in the 2G spectrum scandal, apologised for his disparaging remarks that the CM was born out of illegitimate birth, while comparing him with his party chief Stalin.
Raja had said that if Stalin is someone who was born out of a ‘rightful’ marriage, Palaniswami, who no one knew until late leader J Jayalalithaa’s death and has not reached any heights in public life, was a premature baby born out of an illicit affair.