Stung by the persistent criticism of AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), Chief Minister MK Stalin said the Opposition party had been facing successive electoral defeats only because of his arrogance.
“Welfare programmes and schemes are being named after Kalaignar. Should they be named after you, a cockroach that crawled to gain power,” he asked, speaking after launching developmental projects and inaugurating new buildings at Virudhunagar.
“Your arrogance is the reason why people are handing you successive defeats in elections and they will continue to do so,” he told the AIADMK leader.
Slamming the Opposition party leader for his allegation that the DMK government is not allocating enough for capital expenditure, Stalin accused him of being a ‘habitual liar’. “A person can be excused for telling lies, but not as huge in terms of acres. The old adage on a habitual liar will henceforth be made after EPS,” he said.
The chief minister inaugurated the newly built District Collectorate at Virudhunagar,l. With six floors, it was constructed at a cost of Rs 77 crore.
Earlier, speaking to the media, Stalin announced that the Tamil Nadu government would henceforth bear the total educational expenses of the wards of the victims of accidents at cracker factories. “The entire educational expenses of the children who have lost their parents in firecracker manufacturing units and factories will be borne by the State Government. A separate corpus has been set up for this purpose with an initial allocation of Rs 5 crore,” he said.
This educational assistance will be extended throughout their studies from school education to higher education, he explained.
During his two-day visit to the district, Stalin, who on Saturday inspected the safety measures at the private fireworks factory, directed regular periodic checks. The rain shadow Virudhunagar district, known as the fireworks manufacturing hub of the country, is notorious for fatal accidents claiming lives at frequent intervals.