THENI/DINDIGUL: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said the amendments in the Constitution proposed by the union government to increase women’s represenation in Parliament and delimitation are not new.
When asked by reporters in Dindigul about Chief Minister M K Stalin’s strong opposition to the convening of a special Parliament session on April 16-18 to discuss the issue, Palaniswami said, “CM M K Stalin is unable to digest the fact that important amendments such as 33% reservation for women will be passed.
The amendment is not a new one. Women are expecting such historic moments where they will get 33% reservation in Parliament and state assemblies, but Stalin is unwilling to accept it because he is afraid of defeat in the election.”
Earlier, campaigning in Theni along with AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran, he said it was the AIADMK government which secured a judgment from Supreme Court to increase water storage level in Mullai Periyar dam up to 152 feet after strengthening the structure.
“Though AIADMK floated tenders, the Kerala government did not gave permission to carry out the repair works even after I met the then Kerala CM. After becoming CM Stalin did not meet his Kerala counterpart and take steps to solve the issue, even though the DMK is in an alliance with the CPM. If Stalin truly intended to resolve the Mullai Periyar issue, he could have done so easily.”
Recalling that former CM J Jayalalithaa had installed a statue for John Pennycuick, the engineer who built the Mullai Periyar dam, Palaniswami allaged that the DMK government failed in its attempt to install a statue of Pennycuick abroad due to non-payment of dues.
Questioning the ideological consistency of the DMK, EPS asked whether the ideologies of the DMK align with those of the Congress, the Communist parties, or the VCK.
“Whenever elections approach, Stalin raises the anti-Hindi issue. When it happened (Hindi imposition), the Congress was in power in the state and at the centre. Yet DMK is in alliance with the Congress. Stalin changes his stand like a chameleon to suit political needs,” EPS said.