AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami addressing the public during his campaign “Makkalai kaappom, Tamizhagathai meetpom” in Vellore on Tuesday.

| Photo Credit: C. VENKATACHALAPATHY

Coming down strongly on Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary R. Mutharasan’s comments on the AIADMK-BJP alliance, Leader of the Opposition and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday said that the CPI leader had no locus standi to talk about the NDA alliance in Tamil Nadu, as the DMK too had been in alliance with the saffron party in the 1999 general election and 2001 State Assembly poll.Mr. Palaniswami was reacting to Mr. Mutharasan’s charge in Salem last week that the AIADMK leader had aligned with the BJP without consulting others in his party, prompting members to leave the party in recent weeks. Mr. Mutharasan was referring to former AIADMK leaders A. Anwhar Raajhaa and V. Maitreyan joining the DMK recently. “Mr. Mutharasan (CPI) has no locus standi to talk about our alliance (AIADMK-BJP). What do the ruling DMK and Communist parties have in common in terms of ideology and principles to forge an alliance for polls?” he asked.Mr. Palaniswami said the Communist parties changed colour according to the political situation. But, the AIADMK’s decisions were based on principles. In the 2021 Assembly polls, the AIADMK won 10 seats out of 11 seats in the Salem region despite fighting the election without an alliance,” he claimedMr. Palaniswami was referring to the CPI State secretary’s assertion that the AIADMK would be routed in Salem region, including Mr. Palaniswami’s home turf of Edappadi constituency in the 2026 poll.Highlighting the steady increase in prices of essential commodities, the AIADMK leader blamed DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for not taking effective steps to contain inflation. On the other hand, under his leadership, the AIADMK regime kept prices under control even during the pandemic (COVID-19) by creating a Price Stabilisation Fund. Essential commodities were brought from other States and sold at lower prices to meet the demand in Tamil Nadu. This helped contain the rising prices. “The DMK is only good at bringing down the curtains on good initiatives like Amma clinics launched by the AIADMK. They (DMK) closed 2,000 such clinics in Tamil Nadu, but once the AIADMK returns to power in 2026, 4,000 AMMA clinics will be opened,” he said. Published - August 19, 2025 09:27 pm IST