EPS lost moral right to enter AIADMK hq: Nirmal Kumar
On allegations surrounding Tamil Nadu’s power procurement policy, Nirmal Kumar said several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and West Bengal, had also purchased electricity at rates of up to Rs 35 per unit. He said the electricity department was fully prepared to handle the northeast monsoon in 14 districts and no govt welfare scheme would be stalled for want of funds. Because of him, and AIADMK legislators have been politically confined to the MLA hostel, byelections were necessitated.
Madurai: Minister for energy resources C T R Nirmal Kumar on Saturday accused AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami of reducing his party to a “letterhead party,” and said he had lost the moral right to enter the AIADMK headquarters. Addressing reporters after inaugurating the state-level Chief Minister’s Trophy sports meet at MGR Stadium in Madurai, the minister said several senior AIADMK leaders had already voiced concerns about Palaniswami’s style of functioning. The AIADMK headquarters is MGR’s legacy, and he does not even have the eligibility to enter the building,” Nirmal Kumar said. Alleging that AIADMK legislators had once explored the possibility of joining hands with DMK to form a govt, he said, “Not even a brick of the party headquarters would accept Palaniswami’s decisions. That is why CM Vijay was able to meet other leaders but not him,” he said. “Tamil Nadu has procured power only under contractual arrangements,” he said. Nirmal Kumar said the govt was considering legislative amendments relating to reservation benefits for converted Muslims and consultations were held with various Muslim organisations in this regard.
“AIA DMK has been turned into a letter-pad party to safeguard the interests and properties of Edappadi Palaniswami’s family. He has mortgaged the party to DMK and abandoned it midway. The minister further claimed that Palaniswami remained inaccessible even to party functionaries. “Very few people have his phone number, and most leaders cannot contact him.