Udhayanidhi slams Palaniswami over politics of prostration

In a scathing attack on the AIADMK leadership, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sunday accused Edappadi K Palaniswami of practising a “politics of prostration”, claiming that he had serially switched allegiances and surrendered State rights to maintain his hold on power.

Udhayanidhi, campaigning for DMK’s Mannargudi candidate and Industries Minister TRB Rajaa, sought to frame the 2026 Assembly election as a battle between “slaves and self-respect”.

“As long as J Jayalalithaa (late AIADMK leader) was there, (he held) her feet. After she died, VK Sasikala’s feet. After she went to jail, TTV Dhinakaran’s feet. Now, he goes to Delhi and says, I will only hang onto Modi’s feet, and he is hanging there.” The Deputy CM claimed that Palaniswami had backstabbed every mentor who aided his political rise, contrasting this with the DMK’s record of standing up for Tamil Nadu’s autonomy against the “Delhi team.”

Responding to the AIADMK chief’s taunts regarding his “lack of experience”, Udhayanidhi retorted that he indeed lacked the “experience” of catching the feet of superiors for posts.