Tamil Nadu deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin calls EPS a slave of BJP

Chennai: Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Monday launched a scathing attack on leader of opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), saying that the AIADMK chief had become a “slave” of the BJP. “In 2019, he mortgaged the AIADMK to BJP. In 2021, he gave the AIADMK on lease to BJP. And now, in 2026, he has completely sold AIADMK to BJP. For his own selfish interests, Edappadi Palaniswami is leading AIADMK towards destruction,” he said.

The DMK leader said if MG Ramachandran were alive today, he would have “shed tears” seeing AIADMK’s current leadership.

The deputy CM’s remarks drew immediate backlash from the AIADMK camp. In a post on X, Palaniswami questioned former DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi for aligning with the BJP-led alliance at various points in his political journey. “If I am a slave to the BJP, as Udhayanidhi Stalin claims, what would he call his own grandfather who was part of the same alliance? What title would he give him,” he asked.
He also questioned whether Udhayanidhi was indirectly criticising Karunanidhi by invoking his name in the current political context.

“Is he unable to criticise his grandfather directly and therefore using my name to speak about him,” EPS wrote, urging the deputy chief minister to clarify his stance.