Our government cannot be shaken by anyone: Tamil Nadu CM Palaniswami

Though the AIADMK (Amma) faction leader did not name anyone in a speech, his remarks came in the backdrop of his facing a two-pronged challenge from his predecessor, O Panneerselvam, and sidelined party deputy general secretary T T V Dinakaran of his own faction.

Palaniswami said his government "cannot be shaken by anyone" as it was the government of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, whom he described as "god".

Addressing a government function, organised to mark the birth centenary of AIADMK founder and late Tamil Nadu chief minister M G Ramachandran, he alleged that some people, "unable to digest" the fact that the government was walking on the path shown by Jayalalithaa, were attempting to "mislead" the people for their "selfish" motives.

Listing out the welfare measures taken up by late Jayalalithaa as chief minister, Palaniswami said his government was working with the sole aim of the state's welfare.

"But some persons, unable to digest this, are intent on misleading the people and triggering confusions for their selfish motives. They should stop doing this and involve themselves in some proactive work," he added.

Like Jayalalithaa, Palaniswami narrated a story of elections to the various posts in the animal kingdom.

He said a tiger and a fox had once connived to overthrow the king of the jungle, the lion, by deceit.

As part of the plan, the fox tried to pit the elephant and lion against each other with the latter getting to know about it at the eleventh hour, he added.

In the end, the fox was attacked by the lion, the chief minister said, adding, "Similarly, many in the country are engaging in hatching conspiracies like the fox these days."

He added that these "conspiracies" would never succeed and the AIADMK supporters would stand united as "one team" and defeat "all such designs".

Seeking to dispel any doubt about the stability of his government, Palaniswami said due to the strength of the ministers and supporters, "none can shake this government".

"The government is by the people, created for the people and none can shake your government. It works tirelessly for the betterment of the oppressed, poor and backward people. As long as you are there, none can think of (pulling it down)," he added.

Later, when reporters asked the chief minister about the "conspiracy", he shot back saying, "You know it as you have been writing about it," but did not elaborate.

He also asserted that the AIADMK and the government were functioning well and parried questions on him taking over as the party general secretary, saying the matter was pending before the Election Commission (EC).

The EC is looking into the Panneerselvam faction's challenge to V K Sasikala's appointment as AIADMK general secretary in December last.

While the much anticipated merger talks of the rival AIADMK factions are yet to make any headway, Dhinakaran has also started making moves to re-assert his position in the AIADMK (Amma) camp.

Dhinakaran, sidelined by a section of the AIADMK cabinet including Palaniswami, has appointed his loyalists to key party positions, even as he has announced that he would embark on a statewide tour to strengthen the party from August 14.