The DMK leader also said he would initiate action against Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani if his party returned to power after the elections
This upcoming Assembly election is the time to bury the AIADMK in the Kongu region, perceived as an AIADMK fort, DMK president M.K. Stalin said in Coimbatore at the ‘Ungal Thoguthiyil Stalin’ (Stalin in your constituency) poll outreach event on Friday.
“There’s a perception that this [Kongu region] is an AIADMK stronghold. It is time to prove this wrong. The DMK that has already dented this perception in the 2019 Parliamentary election, will win all the 10 Assembly seats here,” he asserted. It was important to win all the 10 seats because the party wanted to dedicate their victory to the late leader M. Karunanidhi, whose last wish was not to return to power, but the State’s protection and welfare, Mr Stalin contended.
When the DMK returned to power it would initiate action against Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani, whose rise in the last few years has been dramatic, he said. According to the Opposition leader, from a small-time contractor a few years ago Mr. Velumani’s business empire had grown by 3000% after he became a Minister as his brother’s and friend’s companies win all the contracts. His corruption was similar to that of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s TANSI land deal case, alleged Mr. Stalin and added, “Mr. Velumani has come to think that he owns Coimbatore.”
When people question his corruption or write about it, the Minister misusing his authority, threatens people or jails journalists. All this would change after the DMK returns to power, Mr. Stalin said. He also criticised Mr. Velumani for comparing Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to former Chief Minister K. Kamaraj saying there couldn’t have been a greater disservice to the Congress leader than this comparison.
After greeting people, the DMK president took questions from a few petitioners and said the DMK was making a promise that it would solve their problems and redress grievances within 100 days of returning to power.
