Palaniswami rubbishes DMK's 'intimidation' barb aimed at AIADMK's alliance with BJP

Chennai: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has said his party had never been intimidated by the BJP-led Centre and it happily stitched an alliance with the Saffron party for the 2026 Assembly polls.

Palaniswami said the AIADMK had nothing to fear and it was not afraid of Central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department. The former chief minister alleged that the DMK ministers were, however, crestfallen and were afraid of the ED and the IT since they had hidden the "loot money" and wondered the ways to handle it. That was why the Central agencies were monitoring them and as a result, the DMK ministers spoke out of fear, he claimed.

Further, Palaniswami, addressing a public meeting here on Saturday, slammed Chief Minister M K Stalin for levelling an allegation that freedom of press had been taken away under the BJP regime. The chief minister had no locus standi to talk about free speech, he said.

The AIADMK leader further said Stalin's allegation was shameful as the people were aware of the kind of troubles the state government gave youtuber Savukku Shankar for his comments against the DMK and state ministers.

Palaniswami ruled out factionalism in his party and said its focus is fully on people's welfare.

He was responding to the ruling DMK's allegation that the BJP-led Union government misused its agencies to intimidate parties such as the AIADMK to pressure them to sign up for an alliance with the BJP.

On Saturday, the DMK condemned the BJP-led Centre for what it called misuse of Central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate for "vendetta politics" and vowed to legally face it and also take the issue to the people's court.

Stalin in a social media post said on Saturday: "India has plunged to 151 in the Global Press Freedom Index. Why? Because the BJP regime fears questions. It raids newsrooms, jails reporters, and silences those who expose corruption, rights violations, and its majoritarian agenda.