CHENNAI: Within hours after DMK candidate Dayanidhi Maran filing his nomination papers for the Central Chennai Parliamentary constituency seeking a third term, chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami tore into the opponent saying "one of the richest" in the country was in electoral politics to safeguard his assets and not for public service.Palaniswami launched a full throttled attack at Maran during his whistle-stop campaign in the constituency that began near Parthasarathy Temple in Triplicane . Enthused by the swelling crowd, the CM alleged that the prominent candidate could only be seen during elections, unlike those of the AIADMK front. "Maran has a house a kilometre-long on Boat Club Road (in Chennai). You will not be allowed near his gate after his victory, and your grievances can never be addressed by him," the CM said, to loud cheers from supporters. Palaniswami had earlier in the day rescheduled his campaign as he was indisposed, said his campaign managers.Amid waves of flags and balloons to cheer him up, the chief minister took on Maran everywhere. Near Choolai post office, he sought to remind voters about the TV channels owned by the Maran brothers, the grandnephews of late DMK chief M Karunanidhi . "They have built an empire by running 40 television channels. The monthly package comes at an expensive price (after TRAI rules). Why can't they give it free of cost, if they engage in public service?" EPS said, alleging that huge wealth was amassed by the families. While the charismatic leader, Jayalalithaa chose to address the electors in every district, Palaniswami hit the streets in a campaign vehicle and made brief appearances, sporting a microphone to address the crowd along the route.At his next stop at Konnur High Road in Ayanavaram, the chief minister recalled the number of cases involving Maran, including the illegal telephone exchange case. The Madras high court last week said it was open to the special court for CBI cases to remand the brothers in custody to ensure timely completion of trial. "Stalin goes everywhere and says our AIADMK government is corrupt. The only government in the country that was dismissed for corruption in the country is that of DMK," Palaniswami said, wondering on what moral ground DMK could make such allegations. He alleged that the DMK indulged in corruption during the previous regimes.Taking a dig at DMK for doing little on its promises in election manifestos, the chief minister said the AIADMK government completed the phase I of the metro rail for about 54 kms and sent a proposal to the Centre for the second phase of about 118.9km, covering three corridors, from Madhavaram to Siruseri, Light House to Poonamallee and Madhavaram to Sholinganallur , at an estimated cost of 69,180 crore.

Stay updated with all the Chennai Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.