April 17
The Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy who began his election campaign in hill village Karumandurai on March 22 from the Vinayagar Temple concluded his campaign in his home district Salem at Kalliamman Temple in Dhadhagapatti on Tuesday evening.
In the last 25 days he went on a whirlwind tour through the entire state which was seen as a fiery campaign against arch rival DMK. The Chief Minister campaigned in Omalur on April 11, in Edappadi on April 12 and in Salem city on April 16. The importance given to his native district never went unnoticed. It has energised the cadres and our supporters in Salem," said party sources.
Efforts on to undermine Cauvery rights
Addressing the voters in Dhadhagapatti, the Chief Minister said that Rahul Gandhi has attempted to undermine the Tamilnadu’s rights over Cauvery river by saying in an election campaign in Karnataka that when Congress comes to power in the Centre a dam will be built at Mekedatu in Karnataka and the Cauvery Management Board will be dissolved.
“What he said is a big threat to the rights we established over 50 years of struggle,” said the Chief Minister. Stalin who proposed Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate has remained silent till now over Rahul Gandhi ‘s statement and he is yet to reply to my question. Saying that a dam will be constructed in Mekedatu means that they are trying to destroy the state’s agricultural base he said. “If a dam is built in Mekedatu not a drop of water will trickle into Tamilnadu” he said.
The Chief Minister went on to open a barrage of allegations against the opposition saying that it was the DMK which gave consent to tap methane in the delta districts, was responsible for massacre of Sri Lankan Tamils, 2 G Scam etc. The Congress and the DMK were hand in glove in the above issues and their alliance is not a principled one.
Saying that Stalin’s statements in his campaign that he held his hand to request land in Marina beach to lay his father and late Chief Minister Karnunanidhi to rest, the Chief Minister said that he wants to clarify that the land was denied because of pending court cases against burying leaders in the Marina beach. “Brushing aside our offer of 2 acre land in Guindy, Stalin approached the High Court. Upon his request the petitioners who opposed burials in Marina withdrew the cases. This exposed the fact Stalin was behind the petitions to prevent from Jayalalitha being buried there,” said Edappadi Palanisamy. In Salem the Chief Minister went by foot through the old market place distributing handbills and soliciting votes for Salem candidate, K.R.S Saravanan.
CFCM News
(Centre for Community Media)