Slamming the AIADMK for “shamelessly copying” the DMK government’s welfare and development initiatives into its election manifesto, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin on Saturday said the opposition party had a long record of making promises it never fulfilled and had no credibility to seek another mandate.
Speaking at a public function in Karaikudi during his tour of Sivaganga district, Stalin said AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami had failed to implement even the assurances made during his tenure as Chief Minister. “He has not kept his earlier promises and he will certainly not become the Chief Minister again,” Stalin said, adding that copying DMK schemes would not compensate for years of non-performance.
The Chief Minister questioned whether several high-profile promises made by the AIADMK government had ever been delivered. He cited the long-pending Chennai–Kanyakumari coastal road project and asked whether it had been completed. Referring to other assurances, Stalin asked what happened to the promise of distributing mobile phones to ration card holders, providing free Wi-Fi, and establishing Amma two-wheeler repair centres in every panchayat.
“People know very well that Palaniswami does not do what he promises,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Stalin inaugurated the Chettinad Agricultural College and Research Institute at Kanadukathan, a major step aimed at strengthening agricultural education and research in the Chettinad region. He later inaugurated the Government Law College at Kalani Vasal, constructed at a cost of Rs 100.45 crore, expanding access to legal education in southern Tamil Nadu.
As part of the same programme, the Chief Minister also inaugurated 49 completed development projects worth Rs 2,600 crore and distributed welfare assistance to beneficiaries. Addressing the gathering, he listed various schemes implemented by the DMK government for Sivaganga district, highlighting investments in education, infrastructure, and livelihood support.
Stalin also trained his guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of levelling false allegations against the Tamil Nadu government for electoral gains. He pointed out that the Union government itself had acknowledged and praised several Tamil Nadu welfare schemes and their outcomes.
Raising concern over amendments to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Stalin warned that changes introduced by the Centre could result in rural workers receiving barely half of the assured 125 days of employment. Later, the Chief Minister inaugurated a Mini TIDEL Park, underlining the state’s push to generate technology-driven employment in smaller towns and districts.