DMK president M.K. Stalin on Saturday said Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami had announced a cash gift worth ₹2,500 for rice ration cardholders only because the Assembly election was just four months away.
Addressing party workers in Tiruvallur, through videoconferencing, he said the Chief Minister had failed to release financial assistance when the pandemic snatched the livelihoods of people. “He did not listen to us when we demanded ₹5,000 as relief for those affected. At least now he should release the amount,” he said. He said Mr. Palaniswami was extending the lockdown because he feared the DMK would organise public meetings.
Reacting to the Chief Minister’s allegations that he was not meeting people, Mr. Stalin said, “I am not sure whether the Chief Minister was sober because it was his government that banned public meetings.” He said the government was not able to digest the response to the fast organised by the DMK and its allies, in solidarity with the farmers protesting in Delhi, and hence had filed cases against the leaders.
Recalling the help extended by the DMK to the people during the lockdown, he said the party and its cadre were capable of doing what a government could not.
