‘AIADMK is now Amit Shah Munnetra Kazhagam’: TN minister

MADURAI:  Taking a dig at the AIADMK-BJP alliance, Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin referred to a story and termed Tamil Nadu as a house, AIADMK as garbage and BJP as the snake that came to the house due to the garbage.

"It is not Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam but Amit Shah Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. A phone call from above will sort the issues within the alliance. Tamil Nadu voters should chase BJP away in the upcoming elections," he added. The minister was speaking after distributing porkizhis (cash awards) to around 1,519 senior DMK cadre on Wednesday.
 
Udhayanidhi said the AIADMK state conference held in the district was a prime example of how a conference should not be organised. "DMK has been awarding porkizhis to senior cadre since 2017. Till date, more than 20,654 senior party members have received it. Such senior cadre are the strength of the party. Though 33 resolutions were passed in the AIADMK conference, all that was trending was the wastage and poor quality of food. The youth conference that DMK will host in Salem will set an example for how a conference should be conducted," he added.

Responding to AIADMK leader RB Udhayakumar's statement on DMK's stand on NEET, Udhayanidhi challenged the former minister to take part in DMK's signature campaign against NEET and said the exam has caused the death of 21 children in the state. The minister, in reply to AIADMK leader Sellur Raju's statement that DMK did not speak when BJP commented against the late chief minister Annadurai and Periyar, said their party spokesperson had already addressed the issue. He also said his Sanatana comments were blown out of proportion through false news.

Udhayanidhi further said DMK will campaign for the upcoming elections with the list of beneficiary schemes rolled out such as the Pudhumai Penn scheme; Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme; and breakfast scheme, which he stated has benefited more than 17 lakh school children. He also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments against MK Stalin in Uttar Pradesh and said the BJP government has been involved in major corruption through several schemes. The minister also questioned why the President of India was not invited to the inauguration of the new Parliament building.  

Inspecting the Jallikattu arena in Alanganallur, Udhayanidhi said, "As told by the chief minister earlier, works will be completed by this year-end and events will be hosted from next Jallikattu season. The new arena is equipped with all essential facilities."

He visited Judo athlete Paruthi Vigneshwaran, whose leg was amputated after an accident in July, and handed over `2 lakh assistance to him.  Udhayanidhi also inspected the ongoing construction work of Government Rajaji Hospital.

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