DMK-Cong rift widening, AIADMK front getting stronger: EPS

Trichy: The rift between DMK and Congress is growing in the state while the AIADMK front is emerging stronger as a few more parties are likely to join it, said AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday.Speaking to reporters at Trichy airport, EPS said even after DMK MP Kanimozhi met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, the dispute between the two parties remain unresolved. "Chief minister M K Stalin, who frequently spoke about INDIA bloc, no longer mentions it in his speeches. There is a conflict between the two parties,'' he said.Referring to Stalin's allegation that the AIADMK – BJP alliance was formed out of coercion, EPS questioned the ‘silence of Stalin on the DMK - Congress friction.' On the other hand, the AIADMK front was growing strong and would win a landslide victory in the assembly election. "I said earlier that more parties will join our alliance. As announced, PMK and AMMK have joined us. We are in talks with a few other parties. There is a possibility of those parties joining us too,'' he said without naming them.Training his guns on TVK president Vijay, EPS called him a ‘corrupted person.' "The penalty imposed on him by income tax dept is proof enough that he is a corrupted person. Even the court has upheld the penalty," EPS said.EPS questioned Vijay's suitability as a political leader, accusing him of hiding indoors for days together after the Karur stampede. "It is a political leader's duty to face the consequences and resolve a crisis. But he turned reclusive abandoning his own party,'' he said.Earlier, addressing the gathering at a wedding event of an AIADMK functionary at Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur district, EPS called the DMK govt ‘incompetent.' "After Stalin took over as CM, TN has amassed a debt of around Rs5 lakh crores. Their only achievement is leaving everyone indebted," he said.He said the AIADMK govt implemented several schemes to support farmers, agricultural labourers, and residents of the Cauvery delta region. He later met farmers cultivating samba and thaladi crops near Vannarappettai in Thanjavur district. They complained to him that the crops were affected due to ‘inadequate supply of water'. Subsequently, EPS demanded that the state govt increase Cauvery water outflow from Mettur dam for irrigation for at least three weeks.