Dharapuram: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said TVK was afraid of defeat in the bypoll and hence enacted a drama to create sympathy among voters.“At a TVK campaign, a candidate wept and chief minister C Joseph Vijay consoled her. This is more dramatic than cinema. Who are they trying to fool with this drama? They are afraid of defeat in Dharapuram and Madurantakam,” he said during his campaign at Dharapuram.Palaniswami alleged that Vijay lacked gratitude. He said that when he was CM, Vijay had once gone to meet him and waited three hours at his home. He said Vijay sought his intervention when one of his films faced release hurdles.“AIADMK stood by him then, but he lacks basic gratitude. He deliberately avoided naming our party in his speeches, dismissing us as ‘matrum palar’ (others),” he said. He alleged that TVK govt had not only failed to fulfil poll promises, but had also mismanaged the economy and stunted welfare programmes.On the other hand, AIADMK executed multiple welfare projects, Palaniswami said. “We introduced Amma Mini Clinics, but neither the previous govt nor this one has paid attention to them. I established a govt medical college hospital in Tirupur at ₹400 crore and a veterinary research centre in Udumalpet at ₹125 crore,” he said.
