Senior DMK minister and principal secretary, K N Nehru, lashed out at Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday for demanding the resignation of Chief Minister M K Stalin following the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy. Nehru questioned Palaniswami’s own record during his tenure as Chief Minister and accused him of hypocrisy.In a scathing attack, Nehru pointed out several controversial incidents that occurred during the AIADMK regime, challenging whether Palaniswami had ever considered resigning in the face of those crises. “Thirteen innocent people who protested against the Sterlite factory were shot dead in Thoothukudi during your regime. Did you resign then? Did you step down when AIADMK functionary Arulanandam was arrested in connection with the Pollachi sexual harassment scam? Why did you not resign after the Kodanadu heist cum murder case? Did you own responsibility and resign when the revenue department took control of the Sathankulam police station after Phenix-Jebaraj’s double death in police custody? Do you deserve to demand CM Stalin’s resignation now?” Nehru asked.
Nehru also referenced a past hunger strike led by former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who demanded a CBI inquiry into J Jayalalithaa’s death. He accused Palaniswami of preventing a CBI inquiry into Jayalalithaa’s death and questioned his current call for a CBI probe into the Kallakurichi issue. “Palaniswami prevented a CBI inquiry into his own leader’s (Jayalalithaa) death then. Are you not ashamed of demanding a CBI probe into the Kallakurichi issue now?” Nehru said.
Recalling the representation made by OPS and his supporters to the then President Pranab Mukherjee for ordering a CBI probe into Jayalalithaa’s death, Nehru criticized Palaniswami for obtaining a stay against a High Court order directing a CBI probe into the highway tender scam against him. “The man who grew nervous over a CBI probe then is now blowing the trumpet for the CBI,” he remarked.
Nehru further accused Palaniswami of double standards on the issue of ordering a CBI probe and suggested that the LoP’s demand for Stalin’s resignation was driven by frustration over his ninth electoral defeat since taking control of the AIADMK.