DMK government sleeping for four years, says Palaniswami

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday alleged that the DMK government was in deep sleep for the last four years and was introducing schemes at the end of its tenure “to cheat the people”.

As part of his Statewide tour, Mr. Palaniswami addressed members of the public at the Krishnagiri roundabout.

He said the government, which was in deep sleep for the past four years, was introducing the ‘Ungaludan Stalin’ and ‘Nalam Kaakkum Stalin’ schemes now. “Law and order is at its worst, and there is no protection for people. There is no safety for the police. Drug menace has increased everywhere. People involved in criminal activities do not fear the police, and the hands of the police have been tied,” he said.

Alleging that corruption was rampant under DMK rule, Mr. Palaniswami said that even at Tasmac outlets, ₹10 is additionally collected for every liquor bottle. “In the past four years alone, ₹22,000 crore went to the ‘high command’ through this method,” he said.

In 2017, the Tamil Nadu government signed up to Ujjwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (Uday) on two conditions. During the four years of the AIADMK government, between 2017 and 2021, power tariff was not increased. But the DMK government hiked the tariff by 67%, citing the Uday scheme as the reason, and the industrial development was affected, he added.

Listing the achievements of his government, Mr. Palaniswami said that for Krishnagiri district, a government medical college hospital, worth ₹348 crore, was constructed. But it was not maintained properly now.

Earlier, the former Chief Minister met representatives of farmers’ associations. In his interaction with them, he said, “During AIADMK rule, we met farmers and fulfilled their demands.” The AIADMK government introduced schemes for their welfare. It gave compensation for the crops damaged by wild animals. Electric fences were provided to prevent elephants from entering human habitations.

After the AIADMK returned to power, a committee would be formed, and based on its recommendations, steps would be taken to prevent animals from entering human habitations, and compensation would be hiked for the families of those killed in man-animal conflicts. Through the lift irrigation scheme, surplus water would be diverted to lakes from Thenpennai River in the district, Mr. Palaniswami added.