Chennai, Aug 14 (PTI) AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday took a swipe at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, saying he chose to shift his office to a modern room while farmers faced several problems.
As Palaniswami targeted the ruling TVK, AIADMK rebel MLAs S P Velumani and Natham R Viswanathan skipped the statewide protest, objecting to the party leadership’s decision to ask them to lead the agitations outside their home districts.
Palaniswami had assigned Velumani to lead the protest in Theni and Viswanathan in Ramanathapuram.
The two senior leaders defied the party leadership and skipped the protests. In a joint statement earlier, they had said they would not travel outside their strongholds of Coimbatore and Dindigul to lead the agitation.
The two were among the 25 rebel MLAs who defied the party diktat and voted in support of the TVK government during the floor test on May 13.
Later, fearing disqualification, the rebel legislators led by Velumani reconciled with Palaniswami and agreed to function under his leadership. However, six of the 25 legislators later resigned and joined the TVK, accepting Vijay’s leadership.
Palaniswami had called for Friday’s protest to condemn the state government’s alleged failure to secure Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery water.
AIADMK workers led by Palaniswami staged protests across Tamil Nadu on Friday, demanding a complete waiver of crop loans taken by farmers. The party claimed the water shortage had contributed to drought and disrupted Kuruvai paddy cultivation in the Cauvery delta districts.
Addressing party workers at a protest near the Head Post Office in Thanjavur, Palaniswami criticised the CM for focusing on shifting to a modern office instead of using his official chamber at Fort St George, where former chief ministers C N Annadurai, M Karunanidhi, M G Ramachandran, J Jayalalithaa, he himself and M K Stalin had worked.
“The CM seems to be concerned about the aesthetics of his office while farmers in the state are struggling and working day and night in harsh weather conditions,” Palaniswami said.
He urged the government to waive agricultural loans instead of ignoring the plight of farmers.
At the protest, Palaniswami recalled the historical legal struggles led by previous AIADMK regime, and specifically mentioned the efforts of late Chief Ministers M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, in securing water rights from Karnataka.
He noted that despite these long-term legal victories, delta farmers still struggled to receive their due share of water annually.
Later, speaking to reporters, the former Chief Minister heavily criticised the ruling TVK dispensation’s performance after its first 100 days in power. The government has failed to introduce any new welfare schemes for the public, and the administration focused on “reels” and publicity rather than governance, he claimed.
“The first 100 days in office have been marked by constant protests from various groups, including farmers, government employees, nurses, and doctors,” he said.
On the Budget, Palaniswami claimed that the government merely rebranded existing schemes, and he highlighted concerns regarding the removal of pension fund allocations for government employees in the Budget.
He said that the government has borrowed Rs 20,000 crores within just three months of asuming office, questioning the efficiency of their financial management. PTI JSP SSK JSP ROH
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