DMK scion and TN Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin intensified his attack on Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami and the BJP-led Union government during a recent party address, sharpening political rhetoric ahead of the Assembly elections.
Speaking at the event, Udhayanidhi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s style of governance. He said, “Union Prime Minister Mr. Modi appears on television from time to time. Whenever he appears on TV, people become anxious – wondering what he is going to say this time.”
Referring to past central decisions, he added, “In 2020, you will remember, one day he suddenly appeared on television and said coronavirus was coming and that the only way to handle it was for everyone to go inside their homes and remain shut in for a month.”
He further said, “In 2016, in the same way, he suddenly came on TV and announced demonetisation, saying the ₹500 and ₹1000 notes people had would no longer be valid,” and alleged that “so many people, hundreds of people died standing in queues under the sun.”
Contrasting governance models, Udhayanidhi claimed the BJP-led Union government was “a government that snatches from the people,” while the DMK’s Dravidian Model government “always gives to the people.”
Sharp Swipe at EPS
Turning his focus to AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Udhayanidhi criticised his praise for the Union Budget.
He said, “Recently the Union government presented its Budget. If you look at that Budget, no scheme was allotted to Tamil Nadu. But even before they finished reading the Budget fully, praise came from Tamil Nadu – from the Leader of the Opposition Mr. Edappadi Palaniswami. That is why today Tyre-fame Edappadi Palaniswami is praising (fire) the Budget.”
In one of his strongest remarks, Udhayanidhi said, “We have seen many extreme devotees (murattu bhaktar) in politics; we have seen extreme party workers (murattu thondar). But today, Mr. Edappadi Palaniswami has become an ‘extreme slave’ (murattu adimai) to Mr. Modi.”
He further alleged that Palaniswami had progressively surrendered the AIADMK to the BJP between 2019 and 2026. He said, “You may have seen on television, three days ago, Leader of the Opposition Edappadi Palaniswami went to a theatre and watched an MGR film and became emotional and cried. I thought, if Mr. MGR were alive today, how he would have cried seeing what has happened to his party. In 2019, he mortgaged the AIADMK to the BJP. In 2021, he leased the AIADMK to the BJP. Now in 2026, he has completely sold the AIADMK to the BJP. For his selfish interests, Edappadi Palaniswami is taking the AIADMK on the path of destruction.”
He added, “You may have heard a proverb – the lid that fits the pot. In that way, today Edappadi Palaniswami has become a fitting subordinate for Modi.”
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