Chennai, AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami criticized Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday for relocating his office to a modern facility. Palaniswami’s remarks highlighted the ongoing challenges faced by farmers in the state, suggesting that the CM’s focus on upgrading his workspace is misplaced given the pressing issues affecting the agricultural community.
AIADMK workers led by Palaniswami staged protests across Tamil Nadu on Friday, demanding a complete waiver of crop loans taken by farmers. As Palaniswami targeted the ruling TVK, AIADMK rebel MLAs S P Velumani and Natham R Viswanathan skipped the statewide protest, objecting to the party leadership’s decision to ask them to lead the agitations outside their home districts. The two senior leaders defied the party leadership and skipped the protests. Palaniswami had called for Friday’s protest to condemn the state government’s alleged failure to secure Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery water. The party claimed the water shortage had contributed to drought and disrupted Kuruvai paddy cultivation in the Cauvery delta districts. Addressing party workers at a protest near the Head Post Office in Thanjavur, Palaniswami criticised the CM for focusing on shifting to a modern office instead of using his official chamber at Fort St George, where former chief ministers C N Annadurai, M Karunanidhi, M G Ramachandran, J Jayalalithaa, he himself and M K Stalin had worked.
The two were among the 25 rebel MLAs who defied the party diktat and voted in support of the TVK government during the floor test on May 13.
In a joint statement earlier, they had said they would not travel outside their strongholds of Coimbatore and Dindigul to lead the agitation. “The CM seems to be concerned about the aesthetics of his office while farmers in the state are struggling and working day and night in harsh weather conditions,” Palaniswami said.
