AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami addressing a public meeting after unveiling the bronze statue of late Chief Minister MGR at BHEL Campus in Tiruchi on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: Moorthy_M
Former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday criticised Chief Minister M. K. Stalin for failing to get Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery water from Karnataka.
Addressing a public meeting held at Tiruverumbur near here, after unveiling the statue of AIADMK founder and late Chief Minister M. G. Ramachandran, Mr. Palaniswami said that 4.5 lakh acres had been brought under paddy cultivation in delta districts during the current kuruvai season after the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur was opened for irrigation on June 12.
Water had not yet reached tail end areas. But water level in the reservoir was going down fast. The precarious situation had raised apprehension on the prospect of the standing paddy crop. Karnataka should have released TN’s June month share of nine tmc of water to TN. But the Congress Government in Karnataka did not release it, said Mr. Palaniswami and added that the DMK government was duty bound to get the TN share of water.
When Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar said that his government could not release water to TN, Mr. Stalin should have raised a strong objection. But he did not voice his concern as he was concerned only about his family and their progress and not about the welfare of farmers and people, Mr.Palaniswami alleged.
Launching a scathing attack on the DMK government, the Leader of the Opposition said that corruption and malpractices had become a hallmark of the government. Many members of Mr. Stalin’s Cabinet had amassed wealth. Many of them were facing serious charges and they were under the scanner of Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department. They were scared of the Central agencies, he said.
Earlier speaking at an event held here to facilitate him for his contribution to the successful conduct of a case in favour of jallikattu in the Supreme Court, Mr. Palaniswami charged that the DMK government had dumped the Cauvery-Gundaru river linking project.
He said the project, aimed at diverting surplus water from the Cauvery river to Gundar was inaugurated in the AIADMK government. But, the project had been put in cold storage since the DMK came to power in 2021. The project had not made any significant progress.