Palaniswami Accuses TVK Govt of Misusing Police Against AIADMK Workers
AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday accused the ruling TVK government of misusing the police to register cases against his party workers and disrupt their election campaign ahead of the October 6 Dharapuram Assembly bypoll.
Addressing an election rally in Tiruppur, Palaniswami alleged that AIADMK workers were being booked in “false cases”, intimidated and arrested to prevent them from carrying out election-related activities.
He strongly condemned the alleged action and warned that he would lead agitations if the disruption of the party’s election work continued.
“Slapping cases on party workers, intimidating them, and arresting them to prevent them from carrying out election duties is strongly condemnable,” the former Tamil Nadu chief minister said.
Palaniswami also appealed to the police to perform their duties impartially instead of acting at the behest of the ruling party. He said those in power should remember that “power is not permanent”.
Launching a sharp attack on Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, Palaniswami accused the actor-turned-politician of delivering “theatrical dialogues” at political meetings and attempting to mislead voters.
He also targeted the government over agricultural issues, particularly the alleged delay in releasing water from the Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP) canal.
According to Palaniswami, the failure to release water at the appropriate time had caused extensive damage to crops, with coconut groves drying up and farmers suffering losses. The AIADMK leader further accused the TVK government of failing to fulfil its key election promises, including a comprehensive agricultural loan waiver.
The Dharapuram bypoll is among the key electoral contests being closely watched in Tamil Nadu. Palaniswami’s allegations come amid heightened campaigning by political parties ahead of the October 6 polling.
The ruling TVK has not, in the report, responded to the allegations made by the AIADMK leader.