Chennai, March 28 AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami alleged on Saturday that several "B teams" were formed, and many tried to "break" the AIADMK by filing lawsuits in court, but all that has been shattered and destroyed.
Without naming expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam, Palaniswami, while campaigning for votes in North Chennai for the April 23 Assembly polls, said, "Several internal problems were created within the party, and now see where they (Panneerselvam) have gone."
"The true nature (of Panneerselvam) has been revealed. The game is up. After the passing of Amma (As Jayalalithaa is fondly called, meaning mother), many tried to intentionally capture this movement. But, with the help of all of you and party supporters, we stopped and have proven that AIADMK is a strong movement," he said.
"After Amma passed away (on December 5, 2016), they thought the party would break. They tried so much to break this party by forming some B teams. But, along with the support of the people and party cadres, all that has been shattered and destroyed," he said.
Emphasizing that the party was started for the welfare of the poor by the late Chief Minister M G Ramachandran, Palaniswami said that after his demise, the movement split.
"But Amma (Jayalalithaa) united them and fulfilled the dreams of our revolutionary leader (M G Ramachandran)," he said, amidst thunderous applause from the audience.
The only party to have ruled Tamil Nadu for 31 years is the AIADMK, and because of this, the state secured the top rank among other states in India, he claimed.
Observing that the party follows democracy, he said that in the DMK, this is not the case, as no matter how hard one works for the party's growth, they would not receive any recognition. The ruling DMK's objective is only to "loot," he said, and asked the people whether such a party should come to power again. The people replied, "no."
Palaniswami said that it was his government that obtained approval for the Rs 63,000 crore metro rail project in the state.
"This is an achievement of the AIADMK. Has any such achievement been attained by the DMK in their five-year rule?" he asked.
