DMK leader M.K. Stalin on Sunday wanted to know whether the AIADMK government was ready to release advertisements in newspapers stating that it had nothing to do with the Pollachi sexual assault case in which ruling partymen had been arrested.
Campaigning in Chennai, Mr Stalin said when he saw advertisements (on Sunday) in the form of news, he thought they could be showcasing the achievements of the AIADMK government. “Since the AIADMK has no achievements to boast of, it has come out with advertisements only to blame the DMK and earn a bad name for it,” he contended.
Mr. Stalin wondered if those allegations in the advertisements were true, why the AIADMK, which was in power for 10 years, had not filed any case against the DMK men and sent them to jail. “In the last ten years the AIADMK indulged only in corruption and commission. They spent taxpayers’ money to release advertisements,” he alleged.
Recalling the memorandum submitted to Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit against the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues demanding an inquiry into their corrupt practices, Mr. Stalin asked whether the government had the courage to release an advertisement to dispute the DMK’s allegations. “If you are a man, do you have the courage to release an advertisement,” he asked.
Claiming that 250 young women were abducted and sexually assaulted in a bungalow by the ruling partymen, Mr. Stalin said they were kept semi-naked, and videographed before their clippings were sent to their parents. “I know the pain of the parents. I am also the father of a daughter. Does the government have the courage to release an advertisement to say it has nothing to do with the incident? Only now has the CBI arrested them. But I will not spare them. Note it down,” he said.
Mr. Stalin said while there were only DGPs (Director General of Police) in other states, Tamil Nadu had a special DGP and he was accused of sexually harassing a woman SP. “Will the AIADMK government release an advertisement about the incident,” he wanted to know.
Recalling the police firing in Thoothukudi in which 13 people were killed and the custodial deaths of a father and son in Sattankulam, Mr. Stalin charged that the Chief Minister had sought to sweep these incidents under the carpet.
“When asked about police firing, he said he watched them only on television. He attributed natural causes to the deaths of those who were killed in police custody,” he said.
Calling upon the voters to award “zero” seats to the AIADMK in the manner the BJP was awarded in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Mr Stalin said the DMK would win all the 234 seats and become a hero.