Chennai: Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday said that as long the AIADMK existed chief minister M K Stalin would not be able to see his son in office as his successor.
"This is a democratic country. Is it a monarchy," asked the AIADMK general secretary at a public rally in Kancheepuram to mark the party's 53rd founding day.
EPS said many deserving DMK leaders were sidelined as Stalin and son rose to the top because they were related to the chief minister M Karunanidhi. "Only in the AIADMK can a cadre become the general secretary. In the DMK, only Karunanidhi's family could get positions whether in party or in govt," he said.
He said many people took several avatars to "hijack and destroy" the AIADMK, but the party defeated all the attempts with the support of cadres. "We are on our own," he said, hitting out at Stalin for stating that his alliance was strong. "He is not saying that DMK is strong and popular. Stalin is steering the party and govt with the support of the alliance," he said.
Reacting to Stalin's accusations that the AIADMK mismanaged governance during the last decade, particularly during the four-year tenure of Palaniswami, the AIADMK leader defended his party's track record. He claimed that the DMK govt only continued AIADMK's initiatives without introducing significant new schemes.