NAGAPATTINAM/TIRUVARUR/THANJAVUR: Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, during his campaign across the delta districts on Thursday, highlighted AIADMK’s role in resolving the vexatious Cauvery water sharing issue. Panneerselvam, who is also the co-ordinator of the AIADMK, visited Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur and Thanjavur garnering support for party candidates.
In Mayiladuthurai, he spoke at Sembanar Kovil near Poompuhar and Kuthalam near Mayiladuthurai on behalf of Mayiladuthurai AIADMK candidate S Asaimani. Addressing the gathering, he said, “Though Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) gave its final verdict in 2007 when the Congress-DMK combine was in power at centre they failed to notify the same in the Gazette. It was former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa who approached the apex court and got it notified in the Gazette, there by ensured the legal rights of Tamilnadu over Cauvery Waters.
Panneerselvam alleged the DMK government was the reason why Tamil Nadu found itself ensconced in water disputes in the first place. He added that when Karnataka was building four huge dams across the river in the 1970s, M Karunanidhi, who was the CM, made a declaration in the SC that he did not have any objections, even as the rest of Tamil Nadu was protesting.
“It resulted in years of water crisis where we did not get our proper share of water. The state of affairs changed when the AIADMK came to power,” he said. In Kuthalam, Panneerselvam stated the government would take steps to establish arts and science colleges soon. He questioned if Stalin can pave the way for a ‘grass roots level worker to become CM, as had happened with Edappadi K Palaniswami and himself. “Tamil Nadu is a state of peace. Those who burned media offices are behind bars. But it is the DMK which started the culture of violence. They are continuing it, even when they are not power, in biriyani shops and beauty parlours,” he said referring to incidents where DMK functionaries involved in violence, videos of which went viral.
Panneerselvam addressed meetings in Peralam and Tiruvarur, where he again invoked the ‘Cauvery victory’. He said the government had done much for women since the years of Jayalalithaa.