Salem, Apr 15:
Former Chief Minister and AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) has mounted a sharp political attack on Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, accusing him of spreading falsehoods and misleading the public as the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections approach.
Addressing the media, EPS dismissed Stalin’s recent public speeches as “panic‑ridden” and “delusional,” arguing that the DMK leader is relying on publicity and gimmicks rather than performance. He specifically targeted Stalin’s claim that the 7.5% internal reservation in government medical‑college seats for students from government schools was a DMK initiative, calling it a “big lie.”
According to EPS, it was his own AIADMK government that first introduced and implemented the quota, using special constitutional powers when the Governor’s approval was delayed.
EPS also claimed that his administration had earlier launched a morning‑meal scheme for municipal schools in Chennai, and accused Stalin of merely re‑branding that earlier move as a new DMK welfare programme. He insisted that Tamil Nadu’s voters are no longer willing to be fooled by such re‑packaging of old schemes.
Pointing to what he described as a pattern of deception, EPS warned that “a man who rises by lies and publicity will not last long,” suggesting that Stalin’s political standing is weakening ahead of the polls.
The remarks underline the deepening war of words between the ruling DMK and opposition AIADMK as both sides step up their campaign messaging in the run‑up to the 2026 Assembly elections.