Chennai: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday said the party would field candidates in both Madurantakam and Dharapuram assembly constituencies and win in the upcoming byelections. EPS also attacked TVK, saying there was a complete breakdown of law and order in the state and that corruption has spiked.Speaking to reporters after the assembly session, EPS alleged that the vacancies were engineered to help the TVK retain power. “It was a drama enacted by making our MLAs resign through horse trading, in order to keep his (Vijay) govt in power,” he said.EPS said AIADMK had won both constituencies in the recent election and claimed its MLAs had been made to resign without justification. “We will win back the seats,” he said.Madurantakam MLA Maragatham Kumaravel and Dharapuram MLA P Sathyabama resigned in May and joined TVK, triggering Oct 6 byelections in the SC-reserved seats.EPS then accused the TVK and DMK of wasting time in the assembly by repeated exchanges, leaving little time for issues concerning people. He also disputed the govt’s claim that the assembly functioned for 10 hours, saying meaningful proceedings lasted for only about three hours. The rest, he alleged, was consumed by arguments between the two sides, preventing other MLAs from raising questions.Listing out recent murders in the state, EPS alleged that there was a complete breakdown of law and order. In contrast to the claim of TVK leaders that corruption has come down, EPS said, there was a spike in corruption.In the assembly, neither CM nor TVK ministers give appropriate answers to the issues raised by the opposition members, he said. Ministers concerned also don’t respond to questions relating to their departments, he charged. Citing the police grants debate, he said the chief minister had not responded to several issues he raised, including cybercrime, the crypto-currency fraud in Madurai and Dindigul districts and an increase in road accidents. There was no mention of promotions and pay hikes for police personnel either, he said.
