Dharma yudham staged for political benefits: Stalin

THENI: Accusing AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam of ‘staging the dharma yudham’ for political benefits, DMK president MK Stalin said that Panneerselvam did not even bother to appear before the Justice A Arumugasamy Commission set up to probe the demise of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

Canvassing votes for DMK candidates Thanga Tamilselvan (Bodinayakanur), Ramakrishnan (Cumbum), KS Saravanakumar (Periyakulam) and Maharajan (Andipatti), Stalin in Bodinayakanur on Wednesday said, “The person representing your constituency has become the chief minister thrice and is the incumbent Deputy Chief Minister. Even then, why has he not done anything for Bodinayakanur? If you give Thanga Tamilselvan a chance, he will resolve all your long pending demands, including a check dam in Kotakudi river, mango processing unit and new industries.”

Referring to AIADMK joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami’s recent remark in Bodinayakanur that Panneerselvam was god’s gift to Theni, the DMK chief said that this is an indication that Panneerselvam should restrain himself to this district. “People have not forgotten the issues between them. So in short, Edappadi K Palaniswami is Kodakandan and O Panneerselvam is Vidakondan,” he said. Kodakandan and Vidakondan are an old couple in a folk tale who fight over who gets the last bread.

They decide to hold a contest, but a series of unfortunate events later the couple realises that a cat had run off with the bread Stalin also condemned AIADMK functionaries for calling Narendra Modi ‘Jallikattu Nayagan’. “Thousands of youth across the State took part in the protests and they are the real jallikattu warriors,”Stalin added.

While canvassing votes for the Secular Progressive Alliance in Dindigul earlier in the day, the DMK chief called Forest Minister Dindigul C Sreenivasan a ‘comedy minister’ and urged people to ‘issue him retirement order’ through the polls.