SALEM: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami expressed happiness over the High Court verdict, which dismissed the pleas seeking disqualification of Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and 10 other MLAs loyal to him. Speaking to the media after attending an event in Salem, he spoke about the divisive politics being played out in the State and its effect on Cauvery water issue. “We conducted an all party meeting on the issue. But DMK also conducted an all-party meeting and divided the parties. We will fight legally in the Supreme Court to protect rights of Tamil Nadu, he said.
“Nearly 61 per cent revenue of the State government is spent towards the benefit of 13 lakh government employees,” CM said. “In the recent days, Government employees have been protesting for various demands and some political parties are triggering their protests indirectly. For the welfare of government employees, the AIADMK government has implemented the 7th Pay Commission recommendations and sanctioned Rs 14,877 crore. Of the 100 per cent revenue earned, 31 per cent has been spent on implementing various Central Government schemes. In the remaining 69 per cent revenue, 61 per cent has been spent on the government employees alone for their pension and salary,” he defended.
It was only in the remaining eight per cent revenue that welfare schemes for the 7.87 crore people in the State were being implemented, apart from paying interest on loans received from various agencies, he said.
Hence, he wanted the government employees to consider these aspects and extend full support and cooperation to the AIADMK government.
As a part of his three-day visit to Salem, the CM participated in a function at his constituency, Edappadi, where he inaugurated various projects and laid foundation stone for new schemes on Friday. Totally, he distributed welfare assistance to the tune of Rs 26 crore.