Chennai, Sep 26 AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday accused the ruling TVK of “inducing” opposition legislators to defect through horse-trading, labeling its by-election candidate Maragatham Kumaravel a “traitor” for betraying both AIADMK and the voters.
Targeting Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam founder C Joseph Vijay for encouraging defections while branding his party a “pure force”, Palaniswami claimed that the CM was merely “acting” in real life just as he did in films.
He claimed that the by-election was “thrust” on the people by the TVK.
“The person (Maragatham Kumaravel) who is contesting on TVK ticket accepted bribe. She is opposing our candidate (Kanitha Sampath). It was the AIADMK cadres and public who ensured a victory to our party in the April Assembly election. Now the people should teach the TVK candidate a lesson,” the AIADMK general secretary said, launching his election campaign in Madurantakam Assembly constituency facing by-poll on October 6.
Palaniswami accused the state government of “spreading falsehood” regarding legal cases, including a specific POCSO case where he alleged the government delayed arrests for months.
The state government deliberately delayed action in a sensitive Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case involving a high-profile industrialist R Veeramani, he alleged and claimed that two state ministers had participated in a public event honoring the accused in the case, signaling official shielding of lawbreaker.
Palaniswami, a former Chief Minister, asserted that the current government had reneged on key electoral promises, particularly agricultural loan waivers. He claimed that mismanagement of rural power distribution and inflated tariff billing had pushed farmers into severe hardship.
On rising crime statistics across Tamil Nadu, Palaniswami said over 250 murders and 300 instances of sexual harassment/abuse have occurred since the new government took office, and questioned the Chief Minister’s inaction regarding these crimes.
Calling upon voters in Madurantakam to deliver a decisive verdict, Palaniswami declared that the by-election result would mark the beginning of the end for the ruling TVK regime.
Later, speaking to reporters, Palaniswami asserted that the arrest of Gem Veeramani was a result of a court order due to repeated delays by the police in filing reports, rather than a government-led initiative. He highlighted that previous court deadlines were missed by authorities.
The former Chief Minister pointed to a public event where government ministers allegedly referred to Gem Veeramani as a “family friend.” He argued this suggested a lack of seriousness in the government’s pursuit of justice, noting that the case had been pending for three months before the court eventually intervened.
Also, he denied the allegations made by Public Works and Sports Minister Aadhav Arjuna that he “bought” the TVK candidate in Edappadi Assembly constituency, dismissing it as “false information”.
During the press meet, Palaniswami asserted that the candidate in question was originally introduced by the TVK founder Vijay and emphasised that despite Vijay’s campaigning efforts, the voters in the constituency (which returned Palaniswami in the April elections) ultimately supported him, leading to his victory with a significant margin of 98,200 votes.
(PTI News)
