CHENNAI: In his reply to the charges levelled by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami against the DMK government, minister for industries Thangam Thennarasu said it was the AIADMK government that gave permission to the exploration of natural gas projects in the delta districts.
Leader of opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami made the allegations while speaking to reporters outside the assembly soon after Chief Minister MK Stalin replied to the call attention motion raised by the members of various parties on union government notification for inviting tenders for auctioning three coal mines blocks in the state.
During his interaction with journalists, he said the AIADMK stalled the parliament for more than 20 days over the Cauvery issue. “But, the DMK, despite having 38 MPs, has done nothing to prevent the auction of coal mines,” he said, and added that the DMK government is not able to protect the delta districts despite the AIADMK government declaring the area as a protected agriculture zone. However, Thennarasu said that it was the AIADMK government that had permitted all hydro-carbon projects in the delta districts.