AIADMK registers complain to EC over A Raja’s ‘Stalin’s slipper’ remark

Ahead of Tamil Nadu assembly elections, scheduled for April 6, former Union Minister A Raja’s remark, calling Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS), “worth less than DMK chief MK Stalin’s slipper”, sparked a major controversy. 

During the election campaign, A Raja took a swipe at AIADMK’s leader EPS, saying, “Till the other day, Edappadi Palaniswami worked in ‘vellamandi’ (jaggery market), how can he be competition to Stalin? The value of Stalin’s chappal is more than you by one rupee. And he dares Stalin to challenge him?”

He said, “The guts that Nehru, Indira Gandhi or Modi did not have, Edappadi is showing because he believes the money he has looted and his party will save him. He says he will stop Stalin. If he does that even on a single day, I humbly inform him that his car won’t go from his residence to office.”

AIADMK called A Raja’s slipper remark “vulgar” and “scandalous” and registered an official complaint with the chief electoral officer of Tamil Nadu. The state ruling party demanded immediate and stringent action against Raja, saying, “A Raja has undermined the reputation of the leaders of our party also subverting the elections process.”

In response to the stinging comment, EPS said, “See what is the language he has used. That my value is one rupee less than the chappal worn by Stalin. See how they talk. How can he compare a Chief Minister to a chappal?”

AIADMK leader used the remark to his benefit and made a mention of his opponent’s involvement in 2G scam. He said, “Let it be. I will stay who I am. After all, I am a farmer and us poor will be that way. We work hard and only buy whatever we can afford. But they are not like that. They were behind a ₹ 1.76 lakh crore corruption scam and can buy whatever they want.”

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In his defence, A Raja said that the speech was edited and construed. He said, “Should my speech, edited and cut and circulated on social media, be construed as though to tarnish the image of Palaniswami, then I cannot be held responsible for that”. 

He added, “During my election campaigning, while I was trying to draw a picture of the way MK Stalin and Edappadi Palaniswami have risen in politics, my speech has cut and edited in various places to create a different impression. I see it getting circulated on social media.I did not have the intention to speak in a derogatory way about his birth”