EPS hits out at ‘family-run’ DMK govt
EPS also announced that similar protests will be held in town panchayats on December 9, in municipal corporations on December 13 and in panchayat union headquarters on December 14
Former chief minister and leader of opposition Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS), leading a hunger strike in Coimbatore against the DMK government, on Friday called chief minister M K Stalin a “doll” and said his government is led by his family as a “corporate company”.
He said that while people benefitted from AIADMK’s 10-year rule from 2011 to 2021, they are suffering under the DMK government rule due to hikes in property tax, electricity tariff and milk price, and deteriorating law and order situation.
EPS alleged that the DMK government ignored Coimbatore “vindictively” because its people had voted in favour of the AIADMK in the 2021 assembly elections. “In the 18 months of this government, have they done anything for the people of Kovai (Coimbatore)?” asked EPS. “In fact, people across Tamil Nadu have not benefited from the government. This chief minister is a doll. He is an inefficient chief minister.”
EPS also announced that similar protests will be held in town panchayats on December 9, in municipal corporations on December 13 and in panchayat union headquarters on December 14.
Coimbatore which is part of the western belt of Tamil Nadu has traditionally backed the AIADMK and it has been DMK’s Achilles heel. While the DMK combine swept other regions in the state, the AIADMK retained its grip over its bastion in this region from where EPS and top AIADM ministers hail. A combination of their infrastructure work and caste factor helped the party-led NDA alliance winning 33 out of the 50 seats in the western region while the DMK columbine won only 17.
EPS listed the infrastructure projects rolled out for Coimbatore during AIADMK’s ten years governance from 2011-2021. “Stalin should wear specs and come to Coimbatore to see the flyovers we have built here,” EPS said. “He is only opening projects we have completed. It’s like we delivered the babies and he is naming them.”
The DMK began its campaign for the 2021 elections from the western region and has been working to weaken the opposition here ahead of the 2024 parliamentary polls. “Yes, there is definitely more effort to focus in the Kongu (western) belt and better our performance here,” said a senior DMK leader not wishing to be named.
EPS questioned why the government has not been able to abolish the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) as promised by the DMK in its election manifesto. “They said they will abolish NEET in the very first assembly session. What happened? They have only repeated what we did,” said EPS. The EPS-led government had in 2017 passed an ordinance against NEET but it was rejected by the President of India. The DMK formed the justice A K Rajan committee to study the impact of NEET, AIADMK’s ordinance and passed a new ordinance last year which the Governor has sent to the President this May.
