DMK won by fooling electorate, says Edappadi K Palaniswami

CHENNAI: Sparks flew in the state assembly on Monday with chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and opposition leader M K Stalin sparring over the DMK’s “unrealistic promises” made to the electorate. The chief minister insisted that the DMK had won the Lok Sabha elections and bypolls in the state by “making unrealistic promises and fooling the electorate”. Stalin asserted that his party would return to government and fulfil all its electoral promises.
It all started during the debate on demand for grants for environment and forests when DMK’s T Udhayasuriyan (Sankarapuram) said his party won with a massive mandate following Stalin’s mantra of winning over people’s hearts. “The party won the Dindigul LS seat by a margin of more than five lakh votes and became third largest party in Parliament,” he said, showering encomiums on his leader.
The opposition benches looked upbeat with DMK having strengthened its tally to 100. Whereas, the treasury benches, led by EPS and his deputy O Panneerselvam, appeared content with its victory in nine assembly seats and maintaining a wafer-thin majority.
The chief minister rose to say that people were aware of the DMK’s promises and its victory by fooling the electorate. “Waiver of (crop) loan, jewel loan, education loan and Rs 6,000 to a family… You got votes with promises that cannot be implemented,” Palaniswami said. He said the opposition’s victory was akin to abducting a child by luring it with a chocolate while his party took to the masses the ongoing schemes and future programmes, he said.
The DMK chief, seated in the front row, took strong objection to the CM’s remarks. “We will implement our promises when we return to power. We are going to come back and implement them. There is no doubt about it,” he said. Continuing his tirade, Palaniswami pointed to DMK’s “humiliating defeat” in the RK Nagar bypoll a year ago. AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran won the bypoll. “But we got more votes than you. When you, who forfeited deposit, could secure such a victory, why can’t we?” he said as the treasury benches cheered.
Minister D Jayakumar said the DMK could not enter Fort St George when AIADMK founder and former chief minister M G Ramachandran was ruling the state for close to a decade. His colleague and electricity minister P Thangamani took objection to DMK MLA Udhayasuriyan giving credit to his party for the free power supply to farmers.