TIRUNELVELI: It was Nalini Chidambaram, the wife of former finance minister P Chidambaram, who argued in the Supreme Court to bring NEET to Tamil Nadu, but the Congress and DMK leaders are falsely accusing the AIADMK of allowing NEET, said Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami here on Friday.
Campaigning for Nanguneri AIADMK candidate V Narayanan in Munneerpallam, he said opposition party leaders were confusing the people of Tamil Nadu in NEET issue for electoral benefits. “We had passed two resolutions in State Assembly to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET and sent it for the Centre’s consent. We conducted a legal battle against NEET in Supreme Court. However, it was Nalini Chidambaram who argued in the court to bring NEET to Tamil Nadu. Besides, NEET was originally introduced by the Congress-led Union government wherein DMK was a part of. Then, how can we be blamed for?” he asked.
Palaniswami termed DMK as an anti-women party, saying that when he and M K Stalin were MLAs back in 1989, DMK MLAs had misbehaved with Jayalalithaa. “Stalin’s promises are unimplementable. As the State government does not have enough funds, we promise only what’s implementable,” he added.
Taking a dig at Stalin’s ‘Thinnai Prachaaram’, a door-to-door style campaign, the chief minister said the DMK president had never participated in Thinnai Piratchaaram when he served as deputy chief minister. “Only when the candidate of an incumbent party is elected to the house, the demands of people will reach the State government. DMK is akin to a corporate company wherein only Karunanidhi’s family members can attain heights,” he charged.