Dharapuram, Oct 3:
AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami has alleged that law and order had deteriorated in Tamil Nadu, claiming that eight murders had taken place in a single day and that 285 murders had been reported since the TVK government assumed office.
Addressing a campaign meeting in Thalavaipattinam in support of AIADMK candidate Bhanumathi in Dharapuram on Friday, Palaniswami criticised Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay over the circumstances leading to the by-election and the political developments involving a former AIADMK legislator.
Palaniswami said that the victory of an MLA was the result of the hard work of thousands of party workers. He claimed that nearly 7,000 people would work day and night for a candidate’s victory and alleged that the former AIADMK legislator had subsequently switched sides through political bargaining. He demanded that voters punish the candidate for the move.
Referring to Vijay’s claim that the election of the TVK candidate would help bring more development projects to the constituency, Palaniswami questioned why a by-election had become necessary after the candidate had already been elected to the Assembly and subsequently resigned.
He alleged that the Chief Minister, who was expected to represent all 234 constituencies, had acted in the interests of his government by facilitating the resignation of an elected AIADMK legislator and her entry into the TVK.
Palaniswami also criticised TVK candidate P Sathyabama, who had reportedly become emotional during a campaign speech, and accused her of targeting the AIADMK despite having benefited from the party’s support and opportunity to contest the election.
Turning to the law-and-order situation, Palaniswami claimed that eight murders had occurred on the previous day and that 285 murders had taken place since the TVK came to power. He questioned the government’s achievements and accused Vijay of failing to address public concerns.
He also described Vijay as a “dummy Chief Minister” and alleged that only three ministers were responding to questions on behalf of the government. Palaniswami questioned the relevance of references to the Sarkaria Commission in the political debate.