EPS hits back at DMK, cites Karunanidhi to counter ‘BJP slave’ charge

Perambalur: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday hit back at DMK president M K Stalin and deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin over their criticism of him as a "BJP slave", asserting that the DMK had no moral standing to level such charges.Addressing an election rally in Perambalur, Palaniswami accused the DMK leadership of resorting to personal attacks for political mileage. "Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi Stalin call me a slave to the BJP for political gain. But Stalin himself speaks about Narendra Modi, while his father Karunanidhi had described Modi as a good person," he said, displaying a media report. He also questioned the DMK's alliance with the Congress. "Karunanidhi had said bad alliances lead to failure and ended ties with the Congress. Stalin too had once said it is important whom we should not ally with and ruled out any alliance with Congress. Why has the DMK now aligned with them?" he asked. Referring to parties currently aligned with the DMK, Palaniswami said: "Those who once strongly criticised the DMK — including MDMK, DMDK and MNM — are now part of its alliance. Having joined hands with them, the DMK has no moral right to criticise us." Raising the issue of a purported audio clip involving DMK leader A Raja, he added, "Raja had sharply criticised the Karunanidhi family. If Stalin has the courage, he should condemn Raja. Instead, he targets us. Raja has even warned that more audio recordings could be released if action is taken against him," he alleged.