CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran on Monday condemned the arrest of farmers who attempted to show black flags during Chief Minister MK Stalin’s visit to Thanjavur.
Reacting to Stalin’s jibe that Palaniswami was making “half-baked” statements, the AIADMK leader said, “Your police arrested farmers just because they have shown black flags in protest. Is this not a fascist model of governance?”
In a statement, Palaniswami also charged that the DMK government was pushing Tamil Nadu into a “gun culture”, referring to the murder of a PMK youth wing functionary in Ranipet. “I had warned about a DMK councillor possessing an unlicenced gun in Arakkonam, but no action was taken,” he said, demanding strict legal action against all those involved in the murder.
Claiming that his criticism of the DMK government was hurting the CM a lot, the AIADMK leader said, “What is truly half-baked is the CM making lofty promises despite knowing that people are already disillusioned with the government’s failures.” He also took exception to Stalin’s remark that he never reads newspapers.
“In fact, it is the CM who reads only ‘Murasoli’ and lives in a fantasy world where everyone praises him,” he added. Palaniswami further claimed that reports about intra-party issues and alliance strains were emerging only from the DMK headquarters, and even allies were raising concerns about the government’s unfulfilled electoral promises.
Nagenthran, in a post on X, said the farmers were trying to bring to the CM’s attention the long-pending issues involving a private sugar mill in Thirumandangudi. “Instead of hearing their grievances, ordering the police to arrest the farmers is the height of suppression,” he added.