Chennai: DMK president M.K. Stalin’s aversion to the State budget is because he appears to see it wearing “hate glasses,” though he is accustomed to wearing dark glasses, Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam sarcastically remarked slamming the DMK leader for being ‘prejudiced.’
“I am aware that opposition leader wears dark goggles but I didn’t know that he (Stalin) would see the budget wearing hate glasses (veruppu kannadi). That’s why he found the budget useless (udavakarai) but we construe it as extending a helping hand (udavumkaram) to (uplift) the people,” Panneerselvam told the Assembly amidst loud thumping of treasury benches. The Deputy CM’s acerbic comments almost left the opposition parties dazed for sometime.
However, when DMK member Austin raised his pitch to defend Stalin, Panneerselvam cut him short saying “since 1999 you have been shifting loyalties.” (Austin who was with the AIADMK initially had joined the DMDK when Vijayakanth launched the party, and later on owing to some issues he moved on to the opposition DMK. He has been elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly from Kanyakumari Constituency in the 2016 election).
While intervening, Stalin alleged that Panneerselvam had voted against the Edappadi Palaniswami government. “And you are accusing our member of being inconsistent,” he said. Responding the Deputy CM said the entire world knew the truth.
Though all sections in the society including renowned agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan has hailed the budget and the media too had welcomed it saying the budget has been framed with foresight, Stalin alone found it “useless” because he viewed it with ‘jaundiced eye,’ Panneerselvam said.
The AIADMK would live up to the faith reposed on the party by the people and it would emerge victorious in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, Assembly by-election and civic bodies polls, Panneerselvam said.
