A meeting organised in Kallikudi here on Sunday to thank Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami for making Kallikudi a new taluk turned into an election campaign for the upcoming parliamentary polls with the CM appealing to the gathered public to strongly back the ‘two leaves’ symbol of the party.
“To satisfy our needs, to implement schemes and to bring new schemes to Tamil Nadu, AIADMK candidates will be fielded in the constituencies in the parliamentary election that is coming soon. You all should vote for the ‘two leaves’ symbol and ensure tremendous victory of our candidates,” he said.
Mr. Palaniswami and others who spoke at the function highlighted more than once the disbursal of ₹1,000 to all family card holders as part of the Pongal gift this year.
“You all must have indeed celebrated a happy Pongal this year because of the gift from Amma’s (late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa) government,” he said to loud cheers from hundreds of party cadre and public gathered, majority of whom were women.
Stating that the Opposition parties were deliberately spreading falsehoods about AIADMK and the State government to tarnish the image, the CM blamed the DMK for attempting to stop the Pongal gift scheme. “They tried to stop a scheme that benefitted the poor by filing a petition in the court,” he said.
Taking a jibe at DMK president M.K. Stalin in a veiled reference to his recent conduct of meetings in villages, Mr. Palaniswami said that the people who were concerned only about their family were now showing sudden interest in villages.
The meeting was organised during CM’s travel by road from Viralimalai in Pudukottai district, where he inaugurated jallikattu on Sunday morning, to Tirunelveli where he addressed a public meeting in the evening.
Hundreds of people were brought in lorries and mini trucks for the meeting organised by Revenue Minister R.B. Udhayakumar along the Chennai - Kanniyakumari highway to thank the CM for forming Kallikudi taluk.