DMK president M.K. Stalin’s prediction that the AIADMK will split is not going to come true, Deputy Chief Minister and AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam said in Theni on Wednesday.
Speaking to presspersons, he said there was no confusion in the AIADMK. Unable to stomach the popularity and the unity in the AIADMK, the Opposition leader was trying to spin stories. This was not going to happen.
On the election campaign, he said he would begin at the appropriate time. To a query on the choice of the chief ministerial candidate, he said C.T. Ravi, BJP general secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu, had already clarified the same. “There is no confusion. We are seeking votes from the public with a clear mind and with clarity,” he said.
Asked about actor Rajinikanth’s recent announcement of his exit from politics, Mr. Panneerselvam said he wished the actor a long life. “Earlier, when Mr. Rajinikanth said he would announce his party on December 31, I welcomed it... Now, he has decided to opt out. It is his decision. I wish him a long and peaceful life,” he added.
Meanwhile, Forest Minister Dindigul C. Sreenivasan said Mr. Stalin should stop misleading the public. The Chief Minister’s decision to give a Pongal gift of ₹2,500 to eligible cardholders in the State showed the AIADMK government’s welfare approach.
‘Don’t mislead people’
“If he [Mr. Stalin] cannot appreciate it, he should remain calm. It is not correct to mislead the people,” he said.
Officials have been clearly instructed to distribute the tokens to the cardholders at their doorsteps and ensure that there is no crowding at the ration shops, he told presspersons in Dindigul.
Information Minister Kadambur C. Raju told presspersons at Kovilpatti that the DMK had been trying all sorts of “gimmicks” as they were caught in the poll “fever”.
“The leader [Mr. Stalin] is daydreaming. His own brother [M.K. Alagiri] had once stated that Mr. Stalin can never become a Chief Minister. People have not forgotten the atrocities when the DMK was in power,” he said.
According to him, the public have decided that the AIADMK should remain at the helm. Unlike in the DMK, an ordinary worker can become the Chief Minister in the AIADMK. “Hence, it is better Mr. Stalin continues to daydream,” Mr. Raju added.
