EPS accuses Stalin of contradicting himself

CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday accused Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin of contradicting himself on the realisation of DMK’s poll promises.

“His falsehood has come to light,” the former chief minister said, pointing to Stalin’s latest statement that the DMK govt realised 389 out of 505 poll promises made in the 2021 assembly elections.

Minister K N Nehru countered Palaniswami, stating that the chief minister exposed the latter's lies that the DMK had not fulfilled even 20% of its promises.

In a statement, Palaniswami said the chief minister had claimed during the general election that more than 90% of the promises were realised by his govt. “Even 44 months after assuming office, the DMK govt did not realise the important promises that would benefit the people and extend direct monetary benefits,” Palaniswami said.

This included NEET exemption, the old pension scheme for govt staff, waiver of educational loans, and monthly billing by Tangedco.

The former chief minister claimed that AIADMK fulfilled 90% of its manifesto promises, including initiatives like gold for marriage, free rice, livestock schemes, laptops, cycles and crop loan waivers. He stated that 97% of the 1,658 suo motu announcements made under Rule 110 during the AIADMK's tenure from 2011 to 2021 had been implemented.

Palaniswami also disputed Stalin's claim of DMK leaving office in 2011 with surplus revenue. EPS urged Stalin to verify the facts. He questioned why the state govt wasn't meeting even 50% of capital expenditure despite high borrowings and tax revenue.
In a statement, Nehru said Palaniswami had no locus standi to criticise the DMK govt given that 13 anti-Sterlite protesters were shot dead during the previous AIADMK regime.

“People of Tamil Nadu are well aware of the lies of Palaniswami,” he said, dismissing Palaniswami's accusations as lies and expressed confidence that the public would see through the AIADMK's attempts to discredit the DMK govt’s work.