Stalin must speak with Congress high command to sort out Mekedatu issue, says Edappadi K. Palaniswami

Former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Friday urged Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to speak with the Congress high command to resolve the Mekedatu row.

Speaking to reporters at Salem Airport, he said Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar stated in a November 18 interview that a new Detailed Project Report (DPR) would be submitted for the construction of a balancing reservoir in Mekedatu. Mr. Palaniswami warned that the project would turn the Cauvery delta region into a desert, affecting lakhs of farmers who depend on the river for irrigation and drinking water supply in 20 Tamil Nadu districts.

He argued that Karnataka does not have the right to construct the reservoir as per the Supreme Court verdict and criticised the Mr. Stalin for not responding to the issue. Pointing out that the DMK is part of the INDIA bloc and that the Congress governs Karnataka, he contended that the Chief Minister should speak with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to address the matter.

On the Coimbatore and Madurai Metro Rail projects, Mr. Palaniswami said the AIADMK government had initiated DPR work, but the DMK government kept the project in abeyance for three years. He said the Centre returned the DPR as it was based on the 2011 population, which did not meet the requirement of a 20-lakh population for Metro Rail projects. He urged the State government to revise the DPR using 2025 population estimates and added that the AIADMK would take the project forward if it returned to power in 2026.

Criticising the law-and-order situation, he cited the murder of a school student in Rameswaram by a stalker and a gang clash in Chennai. He accused the DMK government of failing to appoint a regular DGP despite Supreme Court instructions and questioned its decision to appeal in the Supreme Court against the Madras High Court’s order for a CBI probe into the murder of BSP State president Armstrong.

Supporting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls “to eliminate fake voters”, he alleged irregularities in Tambaram Assembly constituency, claiming 510 voters were registered across just two houses. He said SIR work was being hindered due to political pressure and stressed that voter-list corrections should be done solely by designated officials.

Mr. Palaniswami said he did not the know the reason why the union government rejected the state’s demand to raise the permissible moisture content in paddy. He said once the reason came out, he will comment on this issue. But at the same time he asked union government to consider to increase the moisture content to 22%.

Responding to a viral video claiming that Harur MLA was made to sit on the floor, he said AIADMK does not practise caste discrimination and noted that former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa appointed Mr. Dhanapal (a Scheduled Caste leader) as Assembly Speaker.

On the Salem textile park issue, he said that during the AIADMK regime, 500 acres were identified at the Salem Steel Plant for a textile park and defence corridor. The Union Government had agreed to provide the land at guideline value, but the DMK government did not act on it, he alleged. He urged the State Government to implement the project without affecting farmer.