CHENNAI: Leaders of DMK’s alliance partners – CPI, CPM, and VCK – on Thursday dismissed AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami’s call to join hands, accusing him of political double standards and continuing ties with the BJP.
CPI state secretary R Mutharasan accused Palaniswami of misappropriating the CPI’s 2021 Assembly poll slogan, ‘Save Tamil Nadu’.
“We coined that slogan to warn against the BJP’s growing influence in Tamil Nadu through its alliance with the AIADMK. Now, EPS, who is part of that alliance, is using the same slogan. It’s ironic,” Mutharasan told reporters in Chennai.
Taking exception to EPS’s recent remarks in Mettupalayam that the communists have no presence in Tamil Nadu, Mutharasan said, “A week after saying that, he invites us with a royal welcome. But what he offers is not a welcome - it’s a bloodstained carpet. The CPI and the INDIA bloc will not walk that path.”
CPM state secretary P Shanmugam echoed the criticism, saying, “Last week, EPS said communists are invisible. This week, he wants us in his alliance. We see through the web of deceit. The AIADMK is stuck in a pit dug by the RSS and cannot climb out.”
Reacting to AIADMK leader’s remarks that the DMK-led alliance should be disbanded due to administrative hurdles faced by the VCK, party president Thol Thirumavalavan said, “We faced such difficulties even during the AIADMK regime. We will not abandon a principled, secular alliance over minor issues.”