Trichy: , TNCC president Selvaperunthagai on Monday said the chief minister M K Stalin went to Delhi to fight for Tamil Nadu’s rights. To the opposition claims that CM visited Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the NITI Aayog meeting prompted by ‘fear’ of ED raids, he said, “That is a misunderstanding. The BJP govt has consistently withheld funds, but this time it has completely withheld them. The chief minister went to fight for our rights. Placing conditions—such as mandatory acceptance of the National Education Policy (NEP)—and withholding funds if states refuse to comply, is an authoritarian way of functioning.” TNNChennai: HR & CE minister P K Sekarbabu on Monday came down hard on AIADMK general secretary Edapapdi K Palaniswami and TVK president Vijay for their criticism of chief minister M K Stalin’s Delhi visit to participate in the Niti Aayog meeting. He told reporters here, “If our CM wants to oppose, he will oppose directly, and if he wants to support, he will do so. We are not scared and there is no need for DMK to have a secret relationship with BJP.“Making a veiled attack on actor and TVK founder Vijay, Sekarbabu said (in Tamil), “I need not respond to ‘criticisms of mushrooms that sprouted in yesterday’s rain’. Let them come to the field first. We are ready to fight those 100 times stronger than them. Our CM is not a person who occasionally gives a statement and does roadshows. These lies by opposition parties are like a sand fort built on the seashore that will be washed away.” TNNChennai: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami questioned chief minister M K Stalin if he managed to bring additional funds to Tamil Nadu because of his participation in Niti Aayog meeting. Earlier, Palaniswami said in a statement that Stalin’s Delhi visit was a “mission failure”.Addressing a public meeting at Moongilpadi in Kallakurichi on Monday, Palaniswami said when he met Union home minister Amit Shah in March this year, he submitted a memorandum listing out the issues needed to be addressed in Tamil Nadu.“I requested him to release funds for implementing MGNREGS in Tamil Nadu. Immediately, he released close to 3,000 crore. Has Stalin managed to bring funds like this to the state,” he asked.Palaniswami said Stalin avoided speaking about such achievements of AIADMK even when the party was in opposition. “Instead, he repeatedly speaks about my meeting with Amit Shah after switching three cars. What is your problem in using multiple cars? I had to use the cars of other leaders such as Thambidurai. So, I had to change cars. I will even walk,” Palaniswami said.On the Tasmac scam, Palaniswami said the DMK leadership was hiding behind the court stay. “Once the stay is lifted, many in DMK will be in the place where they ought to be,” he said.Palaniswami said Stalin was scared of AIADMK’s alliance with BJP as “such an alliance will bring out the corruption of DMK govt”. He said, “Soon more parties will be joining our front.” Palaniswami hoisted the party flag on a 126-foot-tall flagpole at Moongilpadi prior to the public meeting, claiming it to be the “tallest pole”.In the statement, Palaniswami questioned the timing of Stalin’s participation in Niti Aayog governing council annual sessions, after “a three-year boycott”. He said, “People are asking whether the funds are for Tamil Nadu or for a family member. What is the real answer,” he asked.On Stalin’s accusations related to Palaniswami’s relatives, the former chief minister said his relatives were engaged in business before their relationship to him and dismissed accusations regarding I-T searches on their properties. “It is a well-known fact that I had nothing to do with this. It is shameful to spread such false accusations without being able to confront me politically,” the AIADMK leader said.