"39 MPs but not a single one has spoken, they're rubbing gasoline in Parliament": EPS slams Stalin govt over Women's Reservation Bill

Tiruppur (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 17 : Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday launched a frontal attack on Chief Minister MK Stalin over the Women's Reservation Bill, saying that the Home Minister Amit Shah has "clarified that 59 MPs would come from Tamil Nadu".

He added that the DMK is the only government that was "dissolved for corruption".

Addressing the rally in Palladam constituency ahead of the April 23 State Assembly election, Palaniswami took a swipe at Stalin over his protest against the Women's Reservation Bill.

He said, "Stalin is wearing a black shirt today. After May 4, it is a black shirt. The AIADMK, led by Jayalalithaa, voiced that 33 per cent reservation should be introduced in Parliament. They uprooted and tore it up. Today, Prime Minister Modi is giving the form that 33 per cent reservation should be made in the Legislative Assembly and Parliament to establish women's rights. Stalin has put on a black shirt in protest against that."

He further added that the DMK had called for black flags in protest, but claimed, "I have come around so far, there is no black flag in any house."

Palaniswami also claimed that the Centre had clarified Tamil Nadu would not lose parliamentary representation, stating, "Even after he said that the percentage of Tamil Nadu's parliamentarians will not decrease, the Home Minister has clarified that 59 MPs will come from Tamil Nadu. The additional percentage has come."

He added that the DMK had failed to act effectively in Parliament despite having MPs. "Stalin has less strength than the strength of a volunteer. There are 39 MPs but not a single one has spoken. Everything is waste luggage. They are rubbing gasoline in Parliament," he said, contrasting it with AIADMK's past performance. He added that when the party had 37 MPs, "we blocked Parliament for 22 days to resolve the Cauvery river water issue."

He further alleged corruption against the DMK, stating, "DMK means corruption, DMK is the source of corruption. The only government that was dissolved for corruption is the DMK government." He also referred to remarks made by Senthil Balaji and alleged large-scale irregularities in the liquor sector, claiming that corruption ran into thousands of crores, including "24 thousand crores in 5 years" through alleged price manipulation.

Palaniswami also attacked the state government over governance and law and order, alleging rising crime, including murder, robbery, and sexual assault, and claimed that "elderly people are entering houses and killing," while accusing the Chief Minister of ignoring public safety concerns.

He raised economic and governance issues, saying prices of essentials and construction materials had risen sharply, and criticised the government over taxation, claiming even garbage was being taxed. He also alleged administrative inefficiency, saying the government had formed multiple committees, but "what did that committee do? When asked for its work report, there is no answer."

He challenged the government's claims of job creation, alleging that although "77 per cent of the MoUs have been signed, 30 lakh people should have got jobs but no one got them," and argued that the promised economic growth was overstated. He further said Tamil Nadu's current growth figures were linked to projects initiated during the AIADMK regime.

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