THANJAVUR: Putting to rest all speculation, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and joint coordinator of the AIADMK, Edappadi K Palaniswami, on Friday made it clear that the party would lead any alliance it was part of in the state. He said that the AIADMK had led alliances in the earlier polls and would continue to lead them in elections to come.
The CM’s remarks came in response to a question about BJP leaders saying that the national party would lead the alliance in the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections while the DMDK was saying it would go it alone. Both the BJP and DMDK are allies of the AIADMK.
Palaniswami responded by pointing out that from the time MG Ramachandran (MGR) founded the AIADMK, the party had led the alliances in all elections it had faced, including in the last Parliamentary elections. The AIADMK would continue to do so in future elections as well, he said. The CM was interacting with reporters after reviewing development work and COVID-19 control measures in Thanjavur district.
Asked about the depleting water storage in Mettur reservoir and the need to get water from Karnataka to save the Samba crop, Palaniswami said the Supreme Court had clearly said how much water was to be released. The TN government has been raising the issue in the monthly meeting of the Cauvery Water Management Authority and the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee, he said.
"We are getting the water by demanding it (from Karnataka)," he added. Asked about the possibility of reducing petrol and diesel prices by cutting taxes levied by the state, the CM said that was not possible.
Palaniswami mentioned that by cultivating paddy in 1.92 lakh hectares and achieving production of 10.74 lakh tonnes of paddy last year, Thanjavur district stood first in the state.
On upcoming projects, the CM said a detailed project report is under preparation for building an overbridge across the Kollidam river between Kabisthalam in Thanjavur district and Melaramanallur in Ariyalur district.
A waterway, at a cost of Rs. 650 crore, has been proposed between Vinayagam Theru in Tiruvidaimarudur in Thanjavur district and Vembakkudi in Ariyalur district. Further, a slew of bed dams would be constructed in Agniyaru, Nasuvini river and Maharajapuram river near Pattukkottai, he said.
The CM also laid the foundation for 11 projects with an estimated cost of Rs 71.26 crore, inaugurated 36 projects completed at a cost of Rs 39.59 crore and gave away welfare assistance to the tune of Rs 46.70 crore for 8,357 beneficiaries. Earlier, he interacted with farmers, members of the chamber of commerce and industry and self-help groups.