Rs 24,000cr swindled via liquor sales: EPS attacks DMK Govt at NDA protest

Leading the protest of the opposition National Democratic Alliance(NDA), AIADMK Chief and Tamil Nadu's Opposition leader Edappadi Palaniswami attacked the DMK government on the easy availability of narcotic substances, crimes against women and children, law and order issues, corruption, among others. The protest held in Chennai on Tuesday, (March 17th) was led by the AIADMK, with leaders from the BJP, other NDA allies taking part. Tamil Nadu will vote on 23rd April, and the results will be known on 4th May.

Lashing out at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK Chief MK Stalin, Palaniswami said that Stalin was only concerned about his own family's welfare and was not concerned about the issues faced by the public. Palaniswami mentioned that ganja(marijuana) and narcotic substances were widely available across rural and urban regions of Tamil Nadu. Citing an incident of schoolchildren consuming liquor in their classroom, Palaniswami's parents were sending children to school to ensure a better future for the family, but children are falling prey to addiction and getting ruined because of it.

Questioning the authorities over the drug and substance abuse menace, Palaniswami asked if the state had an Intelligence department or whether it had gone defunct. "The Intelligence department should have alerted the Government, but they are only working for Chief Minister Stalin's family," Palaniswami alleged, while pointing out that police personnel were also being attacked and threatened by drug peddlers.

Citing crime data, Palaniswami said that there have been 1,408 murders in the state over the past years, and 246 murders have been committed in the 75-odd days in 2026 alone. He blamed the State Government for not appointing a full-time Director General of Police to handle Law and Order. The Opposition leader also brought up the political murders of BSP leader Armstrong and Congress leader Jayakumar, and alleged that the real culprits have not been found. He assured that AIADMK would return to power and the culprits would be made to face the law.

Further, Palaniswami alleged that sand mining was taking place in the Karur district of Tamil Nadu, with the knowledge of officials. He also accused the DMK Government of having swindled Rs. 24,000 crores over their five-year tenure by illegally overcharging on every bottle sold at liquor outlets, over which the Government has a total monopoly.