Chennai, 24 September (IANS) AIADMK General Secretary and former Chief Minister Edappi. Palaniswami took his “Save the Peepal, Save Tamil Nadu” campaign near Gudalur in Nilgiris district, where he launched a sharp attack on the ruling DMK government, which he called his failure to bring meaningful development to the mountainous regions.
After visiting Konur and Ooty, Palaniswami addressed a gathering in Gududur on Wednesday, which highlights the challenges faced by the residents of the hilly constituencies to reach modern healthcare.
He said that people in Nilgiris were often forced to travel to Coimbatore or Mettupalayam for advanced medical treatment and surgery.
Palaniswami stressed that during the tenure of the AIADMK, the party had made “serious efforts” to establish a government medical college and hospitals to meet the needs of the local population.
While the construction work for such institutions had gone ahead to a great extent, he alleged that the present government had failed to ensure adequate staffing. “Hospitals have been constructed, but doctors and nurses are still in low supply,” they commented.
Criticizing DMK, Palaniswami asked what the ruling party had achieved for Guddur in the last four years. He said, “Not a single major project has been brought in this constituency. It was AIADMK which established a government science college here and started work for a medical college and hospital in Nilgiris.”
He said that about 50 percent of the work in the Medical College Hospital was completed during his party’s rule.
He further alleged that DMK had only pasted stickers and claimed credit for AIADMK’s initiative.
“DMK came to power and opened these projects with stickers. They are inaugurating the schemes launched during the rule of AIADMK, presenting them as their own,” Palaniswami accused.
Confused about his party’s electoral prospects, Palaniswami announced that AIADMK remains a leading force in Tamil Nadu politics. He said, “AIADMK is firmly firmly. The real competition is now for the second one,” he said, a sign of its party’s readiness for the upcoming elections.
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Aal/DPB