Palaniswami assures people of bringing back hawala money stashed abroad in the event of victory

The AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Saturday (February 21, 2026) promised people of the State that in the event of his party capturing power in the Assembly election, it would bring back to the State hawala money stashed in foreign countries. 

Resuming his State-wide tour from Ambattur near Chennai, Mr Palaniswami alleged that the ruling DMK had “appropriated” all the additional revenue earned by the State government and the “hawala’ money had been  placed abroad. 

The AIADMK chief contended that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had become “panicked” after the Madras High Court’s direction to  Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register a case forthwith based on materials shared by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on October 27, 2025, levelling a cash-for-jobs allegation in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) department led by Minister K.N. Nehru, who, according to Mr. Palaniswami, had links in a hawala case. 

Accusing the  DMK of following the “politics of dynasty,”  he said the pesent regime had not been able to get approval for any major infrastructure project, unlike what his government did when it had secured the Union government’s nod for the ₹ 63,000-crore Chennai metro rail project’s second phase.  The AIADMK leader questioned why the Chief Minister was not present in the Assembly a few days ago when he took part in a debate and raised questions about the working of the DMK government.