NILGIRIS: Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday ridiculed AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) for claiming credit over the release of funds from the Union government, stating that “lying is a habit” for the former chief minister.
While speaking to the media during a morning walk in front of the HADP open stadium in Ooty, Stalin said, “AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami is saying that the Central government released funds for the Metro Phase II works in Chennai and pending MNREGA workers’ wages in Tamil Nadu only after he met Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi and sought funds. This is humbug, and speaking lies is the duty of the EPS. People know about it very well.”
He said the entire country knew about EPS’s meeting with Amit Shah and accused the AIADMK leader of routinely spreading misinformation.
On the Pollachi sexual assault case, Stalin recalled the DMK’s earlier commitment: “During the 2019 parliamentary election campaign, we made an assurance that the DMK government would take steps to punish whoever was involved in the Pollachi rape case, and now that has happened.”
On the Kodanad case, he added that the investigation was progressing and that those responsible would be punished.
He also took a dig at the AIADMK regime’s handling of the sports department, stating that things had improved under DMK’s governance. “Soon after the DMK rule, the state government has been improving facilities for the sportspersons. However, no one knew about the sports minister during the AIADMK regime, and now you know the sports minister. Foreign players are getting trained in Tamil Nadu, and the state is getting awards in various sports events,” he said.
When asked about former AIADMK minister Sellur K. Raju’s criticism of the DMK alliance rally supporting Operation Sindoor, Stalin said, “I don’t want to make an issue since Sellur Raju has been named a clown during the AIADMK regime.”
Speaking about the rally, he added, “We have carried out a rally in Chennai in support of Operation Sindoor as it was executed well and also expressed our feelings.”