Tindivanam, Feb 5: Tamil Nadu’s Rural Development Minister I. Periyasamy on Thursday launched a sharp attack on AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS), dismissing his credibility and asserting that he cannot even be the opposition leader in the upcoming Assembly elections. Periyasamy also criticised EPS’s election promises as unlikely to be believed by the public.Speaking to reporters in Tindivanam, Periyasamy challenged various pledges made by Palaniswami, including proposals to raise women’s welfare allowances, absorb student loans, and provide free gas cylinders. He argued that voters will not trust such promises, especially noting that present Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has a track record of fulfilling commitments. Periyasamy asserted that the AIADMK is politically finished and unlikely to return to power, and suggested that Palaniswami’s own party colleagues do not have confidence in his leadership either.
Periyasamy also took aim at EPS’s political alliances, questioning his recent partnership with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and suggesting that it was motivated more by personal political survival than by a focus on public welfare. He accused Palaniswami of failing to deliver on key promises during his tenure and criticised him for continually unfolding new pledges that, in Periyasamy’s view, will “fade away like smoke” without real impact.