MADURAI: Campaigning for the candidates of AIADMK and its allies in the district, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said that a total of 304 industries with investments worth Rs 3.50 lakh crore will soon be started in the State. “This will bring employment opportunities to 5.5 lakh youngsters directly and to 5 lakh youngsters indirectly. In a bid to maintain State’s growth, both industries and farming should flourish. We are balancing both,” he added.
Continuing his attacks against the DMK, Palaniswami said that for a State to develop, law and order has to be maintained. “For over four years, there has not been any communal riots. People are living in peace. If DMK is voted to power, shopkeepers cannot function peacefully. Recently, the DMK functionaries had beaten up a Chennai hotelier for demanding money for the food they had. The next day, DMK president Stalin went to the shop to warn the shopkeeper. He did not warn his own party cadre,” he said.
The Chief Minister promised that basic amenities, including underground drainage connections, would be provided to extended areas in the city. He promised to bring water from Mullaiperiyar dam to Sathaiyar dam, improve the quality of Thenur check dam, construct high level bridge across Vaigai River from Irumbadi to Mannadimangalam, open Alanganallur National Co-operative Sugar Mills next year and set up a cold storage facility in Alanganallur.
He also assured that Madurai AIIMS, Satellite Town City project in Thoppur, a bus port in Thirumangalam and round-the-clock water supply project would soon be established and promised to bring in metro rail service and build flyovers and bridges. Speaking in Alanganallur he said, “It was the Congress government, which is in alliance with the DMK, that banned Jallikattu.”
Denying the corruption charges levelled by Stalin, Palaniswami said, “DMK knows to rule only through kangaroo courts. But our candidates are calm and talented and would visit your houses, not to beat you, but to hear your grievances and solve them.”
Further taking a dig at the opposition party, he said, “Stalin once said that none of his family members would enter politics. But his son Udhayanidhi Stalin has been given a ticket to contest in this polls. Despite having senior members, Udhayanidhi has been sent across the State to campaign for their candidates. It only shows the ‘chameleon’ nature of DMK.”
‘DMK also was BJP’s ally once’
Palaniswami questioned the rationale behind DMK accusing AIADMK and its ally BJP. “When DMK was an ally of BJP they did not have any problem. Now they are blaming both AIADMK and BJP,” he added.