VIRUDHUNAGAR/MADURAI: The DMK government is only implementing and inaugurating the schemes that were initiated by the previous AIADMK government, said former chief minister and AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday. Addressing a public meeting in Sivakasi, he said his government had initiated various schemes, including the combined drinking water scheme, that were being launched now.
"The AIADMK government had also carried out various measures to assist the firecracker industry in Sivakasi. We had also set up a hospital there exclusively to treat burn injuries. The present government is, however, burdening everyone through the electricity tariff hike and the property tariff hike. The DMK government's slogan should be 'commission, collection and corruption," he said.
Recalling how the previous government implemented the 7.5% internal reservation for government school students in NEET, Palaniswami said around 450 students from government schools secured MBBS seats and 110 students BDS seats through the internal reservation. "Despite promising to get TN exempted from NEET, the DMK government has not been able to do anything in this regard. Instead, they have been focusing on shutting down welfare schemes of the AIADMK government, including the Amma mini-clinics. If only these clinics were allowed to continue functioning, poor people would have benefitted at times of fever outbreaks," he added.
"Also, these DMK leaders keep mentioning the term 'Dravida model' everywhere. They are only speaking about it, while it was the AIADMK governments which created and implemented the Dravida model in Tamil Nadu," he added.
Later, addressing a gathering at Madurai, Palaniswami trained his guns on ministers PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan and P Moorthy. "PTR believes that he is a 'super genius' and all AIADMK members have no brains. All he is doing now is falsely claiming that the previous government did nothing for the welfare of the people. Meanwhile, P Moorthy recently organised an extravagant marriage ceremony spending a huge amount of taxpayers' money. Since this government assumed office, all kinds of crimes have increased in the State. MK Stalin does not have the ability to run a government. He is just a 'toy' CM," he claimed. During the meeting, party leader Sellur K Raju handed over a silver sceptre to Palaniswami in the presence of RB Udhaya Kumar, Rajan Chellappa and others.