Tamil Nadu polls: DMK objects to 'highly derogatory' remarks against women, MP Kanimozhi by AIADMK's Palaniswami

Chennai: The DMK on Friday lashed out at AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami for making "highly derogatory" and "third-rate" remarks against the party's Deputy General Secretary Kanimozhi Karunanidhi.

In a press conference organised here, DMK leaders and Members of Parliament, Thamizhachi Thangapandian and Kanimozhi Somu, alleged that Palaniswami's recent comments reflect a "peak of defeatist fear", as the opposition leader anticipates a third-place finish in the upcoming elections.

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During his recent election campaign, Palaniswami declared that if MP Kanimozhi "continues to believe in CM Stalin, she will end up in Tihar Jail again", in an explicit reference to her 2011 arrest and imprisonment in connection with the 2G spectrum case.

He further asserted that she lacks actual decision-making power in the party, remarking that despite having "no responsibilities", she "continues to talk so much".

Both Somu and Thangapandian claimed that such personal attacks have become a pattern for the AIADMK, citing past instances of alleged "body shaming" and disparaging comments about women by leaders like C V Shanmugam and Dindigul Sreenivasan.

"Without considering a woman's dignity, he (Palaniswami) has degraded our leader in words that reflect his own lack of self-respect," Somu stated, demanding an unconditional apology from the former Chief Minister.

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The DMK also linked the AIADMK's rhetoric to its alliance with the BJP, characterising it as a "Nonsense Development Alliance" that "routinely undermines" women's rights.

The DMK leaders further indicated that the party is exploring legal avenues, including filing a defamation suit and lodging a formal complaint with the Election Commission for violation of the model code of conduct.

"...lodging this complaint plus filing a defamation suit will be decided by our party leader in consultation with all the senior legal experts, and they will act on it," Thangapandian added.

Asserting that Tamil Nadu is the soil of social reformers like EV Ramasamy 'Periyar' and C N Annadurai, the DMK leaders maintained that the public would give a fitting reply to such "regressive" politics at the ballot box.