Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 1 : Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) spokesperson TKS Elangovan trained guns on Tamil Nadu assembly Leader of Opposition (LoP) Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), labelling him as the "slave of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)".
Reacting to the exit of expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam (OPS) from the NDA alliance, Elangovan said that EPS wants to protect himself and his family and thinks that his leadership position would be "weakened" if people like OPS remain in the party.
"The BJP must have thought that because EPS is with them, he would not accept OPS or something like that. When the Prime Minister came, he did not meet OPS, which may also be the reason. He doesn't want them to come back to AIADMK. He believes that if these people return, his leadership position will be weakened. EPS is not a leader; he is now a slave of the BJP," the DMK leader told ANI.
"Even if Anna was insulted, his partymen will watch it silently because they are against MGR's principles also," he added.
His remarks come after Panneerselvam announced his exit from the NDA alliance ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, scheduled to be held next year.
Earlier on Wednesday, EPS hit out at the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government, calling it a "failure model" after the honour killing of a 27-year-old IT employee in Thoothukudi district. EPS condemned the DMK government and held it responsible for rising crimes rooted in caste-based violence and honour killings across Tamil Nadu.
In a post on X, EPS said, "Under the Stalin-led Failure Model regime, honour killings are on the rise, and caste conflicts are also continuing."
He added, "Yesterday, I was saddened to hear the news that a software engineer named Kavin was honour killed near Tiruchendur in Thoothukudi district. Knowing that this has created a very tense situation in the area and that the Stalin Model police are acting unilaterally, I strongly condemn the Failure Model government."
AIADMK leader also urged the government, saying, "I request the Failure Model government to immediately provide justice to the victim's family and take strict legal action against the wrongdoers."
The BJP and AIADMK joined hands in April this year. Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared that the 2026 assembly elections will be fought under the leadership of Palaniswami.