Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday said that the DMK and its leader M.K. Stalin were responsible for the spread of COVID-19 in the State.
“Had Mr. Stalin and his party listened to experts’ advice and observed the COVID-19 safety guidelines that the State government had issued to combat the spread of the disease, this would not have happened,” he said while addressing journalists on Thursday after holding a review meeting at the Collectorate.
Mr. Stalin did not listen to the guidelines and sent his party workers to distribute welfare assistance, resulting in the spread of COVID-19, including the death of a sitting MLA, the Chief Minister said. He asked his party workers to distribute assistance, aimed more at seeking publicity, but it ended up transmitting the disease.
Mr. Stalin has been issuing one false statement after another, attacking the ruling AIADMK government, and his aim is only to capture power, he said.
“Mr. Stalin is not worried about the people. He is concerned more about proving his political relevance, which is the reason behind the untrue statements he has issued in the recent past,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
“Be it Maharashtra, Delhi or West Bengal, nowhere has any Opposition leader tried to gain political capital using the pandemic. It is only in Tamil Nadu that Mr. Stalin is doing so, as he has no constructive suggestions to offer,” the CM said.
“He has been talking as if only Tamil Nadu has been affected and the AIADMK government has failed,” Mr. Palaniswami said. On the contrary, compared to the U.S., the U.K., Italy or Spain, Tamil Nadu had done better, and because of the untiring work of doctors, nurses, conservancy workers and staff from various departments, the government has been able to control the spread of the disease, he said.
