CHENNAI: With DMK coming under attack from AIADMK and its friend-turned-foe T Velmurugan of the TaVK for the alleged disrespectful manner in which the ruling party has treated its allies in seat-sharing talks, DMK ministers PK Sekarbabu and SS Sivasankar came out in defence of the party. They accused AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and Velmurugan for being hypocritical and opportunistic.
On Palaniswami’s allegations that DMK has allotted more to ‘unrecognised parties’ than the recognised parties like the Left in what was a jibe at DMDK, HR and CE Minister Sekarbabu told media that the same AIADMK had allotted 41 seats to DMDK in 2011 Assembly elections, when the latter was not a recognised party. He said AIADMK in the same election allotted fewer seats to the Left parties. DMDK has been allotted 10 seats by DMK now.
Refuting Palaniswami’s allegations that Chennai still remained flood prone, Sekarbabu gave a long list of works undertaken and said that Chennai has withstood incessant rains in recent years after DMK came to power because of these measures.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister S S Sivasankar accused Velmurugan for making false allegations after failing to get the constituency he wanted in the DMK-led alliance.