AIADMK stays away from delimitation meet, calls it a 'diversionary tactic'
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Saturday defended its decision to stay away from a meeting of Parliamentarians convened by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on the issue of delimitation, asserting that it would never support the “politics of diversionary tactics”.
In a post on its social media handle, the party’s information technology (IT) wing criticised the Tamilaga Vettria Kazhagam (TVK)-led government for not responding to pressing issues such as the opening of the Mettur dam for irrigation, the lack of water in the Cauvery delta region, and the plight of farmers.
The AIADMK questioned the Chief Minister’s rationale for convening the meeting “in haste” on a Bill that has not yet been tabled in Parliament, while ignoring the Opposition's long-standing demand for an all-party meeting on the Cauvery-Mekedatu issue. “After having ignored the demand of the Opposition for an all-party meeting on the Cauvery-Mekedatu issue, which is there in front of all of us, why is the Chief Minister holding the meeting for a Bill that has not been tabled?” the party asked.
Meanwhile, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami announced that the party would hold demonstrations on August 14 at all district headquarters across the State. The protests are aimed at criticising the TVK-led government for having “deceived” farmers on the crop loan waiver issue, being “lax” on the Mekedatu dam controversy, and “not having attempted” to secure the State’s rightful share of the Cauvery water.
Palaniswami will lead the stir in Thanjavur, while other senior leaders will lead demonstrations in their respective districts. AIADMK treasurer Dindigul C. Sreenivasan will lead in Dindigul, MGR Mandram secretary C. Ponnaiyan in Tiruvallur, propaganda secretary M. Thambi Durai in Vellore, and North Chennai (south-east) district secretary D. Jayakumar along with R. Rajendran in Cuddalore. Nagapattinam district secretary O.S. Manian will lead in Nagapattinam, while Madurai district secretaries R. B. Udhayakumar, Sellur K. Raju and V.V. Rajan Chellappa will lead in their respective segments. In Coimbatore, district secretaries Pollachi V. Jayaraman and S.M. Velusamy will lead the demonstration.
The party also assigned demonstrations to rebel leaders including S.P. Velumani, Natham R. Viswanathan, K.P. Anbalagan, P. Thangamani, G. Hari, and K.C. Veeramani in Theni, Ramanathapuram, Ranipet, Salem, Kancheepuram, and Tirupattur respectively. Interestingly, the name of former senior leader C.Ve. Shanmugam was not included in the list.
