In yet another day of trading insults, the DMK president M K Stalin called the AIADMK a ‘bonded slave’ of the BJP and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniwami hit back by accusing him of betraying the State’s interest in not getting Cauvery water from Karnataka just to maintain an image of a national leader in I.N.D.I.A (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance).
The exchange started with Stalin, in a tweet against the passing of the Delhi Services Bill in the Rajya Sabha, saying that he was not shocked by the party bearing the name of C N Annadurai in its nomenclature supporting the Bill aimed at stripping a Chief Minister elected by the people, in a direct reference to the AIADMK.
He said the AIADMK was run by a bunch of slaves and that party’s vote in favour of the Bill proved that it remained bound to the BJP, provoking Palaniswami to come up with a strong retort, recalling Delhi Chief Minister Aravind Kejriwal laying down a condition of the national opposition taking a firm stand against the Delhi Services Bill for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to remain part of the alliance.
Similarly, if Stalin had laid down a condition of Karnataka releasing the mandated quantity of water in the Cauvery for the DMK to join the alliance, the Congress government in the neighboring State would have been forced to oblige, thus helping the farmers in the Cauvery delta where the Kuruvai crops raised by them are likely to wither, he said.
Palaniswami’s suggestion was that unlike Kejriwal who had Delhi’s interest in mind while negotiating with the other party leaders, Stalin was more concerned about projecting him as a leader of the coalition rather than looking at the welfare of the farmers in Cauvery delta who were now in dire straits.
Accusing the DMK government of betraying the farmers of the Cauvery delta, Palaniswami said Stalin had no moral right to talk about the AIADMK as he had been selfish enough to only ensure that his family members remained in positions of power and their businesses in Karnataka were not affected.
Without addressing the problems of the people of Tamil Nadu, Stalin was talking about issues concerning other States, he said, adding that the AIADMK would never compromise on upholding the rights of the State under any circumstance unlike the DMK that had been opportunistic for getting positions.
Perhaps, in a retaliation to Stalin mentioning the Rajya Sabha passing the Delhi Services Bill with a majority of just 29 votes in his Tweet, Palaniswami, in his statement, said the DMK captured power in the State, much to the chagrin of the people, by winning only eight more Assembly seats.
Recalling how the AIADMK government had ensured that the delta farmers raised Kuruvai and Samba paddy crops without problems by getting adequate water on the Cauvery during their regime, the AIADMK leader said that now the paddy crop in 4.5 lakh acres was likely to die due to lack of water.
