Pointing to the different senior leaders present at the media conference at the party headquarters in Chennai on Thursday, on the occasion of the 53rd anniversary of the AIADMK’s founding, Palaniswami said they were all together with him and striving hard for the development of the party.
Replying to a question on the touted ‘unity,’ he said the leaders expelled at different points of time were trying to come back by taking different forms but those removed once would always remain removed and there was no point in thinking about their return to the party fold.
Referring to the rumours that were floated periodically about sections of leaders wishing to take back the expelled leaders and about putting pressure on the party high brass for it, he denied that there was any such pressure within the party and said the entire party was together in the decision to not bring back them.
Making use of the opportunity to hit out on the DMK government for its alleged failure in managing the rain situation, he wanted a White Paper on the steps taken by the government to tackle deluges and demanded to know the contents of the report presented by the committee led by former IAS officer V Thiuruppugazh on flood disaster mitigation and management.
The former Chief Minister said that the AIADMK ruled the State for over 30 years and had effectively managed many floods brought about by cyclones. What the DMK government saw now was not at all a cyclone but a minimum downpour for which a red alert was issued in the State.
On the laying of storm water drainage system, he said that the AIADMK government had taken the initiative, started the work and even completed laying the storm water drains in 1804 km of the total 2400 km stretch. But the DMK government failed to complete the work causing distress to the people, he said.
Accusing Chief Minister M K Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin of giving false information on water stagnation during the latest rain spell, he said that the Deputy Chief Minister was playful in his reply to the demand for a white paper.
Only the Deputy Chief Minister and Chief Minister were going around overseeing the relief operations by cutting out the Ministers whose departments were involved in the work, he said. If they struggled so much to manage the rains that happened for just a couple of days and no one knew what they would have done if it was a cyclone, he said.
The AIADMK government had extended all benefits to the sanitary workers to address their problems and also encourage them to work diligently at times of rains and floods but Stalin just bought them a cup of tea and showed off as though he was concerned about them, Palaniswami said.
