Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday appealed to the electorate in Chennai to vote for his party’s candidate and their allies, contending that they were “pious and cultured”.
“DMK president Mr. Stalin wiped off the vibuthi [sacred ash] when he visited Muthuramalinga Thevar’s memorial. But we are truly pious people. There will be kindness and culture in those who are pious. Our candidate has them all,” he said while seeking votes for B. Sathyanarayanan in the T. Nagar Assembly constituency.
In Anna Nagar, where the party has fielded S. Gokula Indira, he said the DMK must be taught a lesson as some of its members had made disgusting remarks against women. “Dindigul I. Leoni passed some very distasteful remarks against women. Mr. Stalin has not even condemned it as yet. Even without being in power, they are so arrogant. These mistakes are unpardonable,” he said, adding that he was witness to DMK MLAs physically attacking J. Jayalalithaa, the then Leader of Opposition, in the Assembly in 1989.
Accusing Mr. Stalin of spreading misinformation during campaigns, he said the DMK leader could only dream of winning in 234 seats but he would never succeed. Mr. Palaniswami reiterated his challenge to Mr. Stalin for a one-on-one debate on corruption charges and governance.
The residents of Anna Nagar had benefited from the Metro Rail and Anna Arch flyover, he said.
Campaigning for BJP candidate Kushboo in the Thousand Lights Assembly constituency near Independence Day park, Mr. Palaniswami said a State could develop only if it shared cordial ties with the Central government. “Be it the BJP or the AIADMK, we are democratic parties that grant party posts for those who truly work for the party,” he said while calling the DMK a “dynastic” party, where only family members were given positions.
In Mylapore, where R. Nataraj is seeking re-election, the Chief Minister said women would not have protection under the DMK regime. During the erstwhile DMK regimes, there was no peace in Tamil Nadu. Instead, there were cases of murder, dacoity, robbery and land-grabbing, he said. The AIADMK government had installed over 2.5 lakh CCTV cameras in Chennai and it had helped solve criminal cases, he said.
The AIADMK government had also improved civic infrastructure to prevent flooding, he said, while questioning what Mr. Stalin had done for the city as the Local Administration Minister and as Mayor.
While campaigning for AIADMK candidate Saidai Duraisamy in Saidapet, Mr. Palaniswami wanted the people to compare his performance with that of the DMK candidate, Ma. Subramanian, both of whom were former Chennai Mayors.
If the desalination projects were implemented in Minjur and Nemili, there would not be any drinking water scarcity for the people in Chennai, he said. He also campaigned for Paattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) candidate A.V.A. Kasali in the Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni constituency.
