BJP has the track record of weakening allies, says Stalin; accused BJP of having conspired to replace EPS as AIADMK leader if he had refused to align with saffron party

Chennai: Chief minister M K Stalin accused BJP of conspiring to weaken its regional allies, saying AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami would face a similar fate like that of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. Stalin accused BJP of plotting to oust Palaniswami from the post of AIADMK general secretary after assembly election.Speaking at a function in Madurai, where former AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam and his supporters formally joined DMK, Stalin said Palaniswami should take careful note of Bihar politics.
"Palaniswami should look at Bihar. Even Nitish Kumar, who served as chief minister 10 times, was pushed around by BJP. Reports say Nitish is stepping down as chief minister and is set to become a Rajya Sabha MP. There are reports that a BJP member will replace Nitish as the new chief minister," Stalin said. "The same will happen to Palaniswami tomorrow. According to information I received, BJP had chosen another person to become AIADMK's general secretary if Palaniswami had declined to align with BJP. He would have been removed from the post even before the election." Accusing Palaniswami of mortgaging AIADMK to BJP, Stalin said, "Now the party (AIADMK) is under complete control of BJP, like what happened to Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and Nitish Kumar in Bihar. For protecting his own interests, Palaniswami mortgaged AIADMK to BJP." While welcoming Panneerselvam into DMK, Stalin recalled words of appreciation by former CM M Karunanidhi. "In a debate on Sri Lankan Tamils in the state assembly in 2009, Panneerselvam was referred to as ‘Pachai Tamilan' (hardcore Tamilan) by Murasoli, and Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) appreciated Panneerselvam for his stand. Panneerselvam is a symbol of loyalty," Stalin said. Taking a dig at BJP govt at the centre for transferring Governor R N Ravi to West Bengal, Stalin said even BJP knew that DMK will win the election and Ravi could not administer the oath of office to him. Earlier in the day, Stalin called on Ravi at Lok Bhavan. Justifying his decision to join the DMK, Panneerselvam, in his address, said AIADMK was no more the party founded by former CM M G Ramachandran and nurtured by former CM J Jayalalithaa, but was taken over by a few through shortcuts. "They will continue to face only defeats in their life," Panneerselvam said. Earlier, Stalin wrote a letter to his cadres, accusing BJP govt at the centre of attempting to impose Hindi and undermine Tamil identity. He urged cadres to gather in large numbers for the party's election conference in Siruganur near Trichy on Monday. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Women's day wishes, messages and quotes !