Is T.N. a bird sanctuary for PM to visit only during election season, asks Stalin

April 09, 2024 10:58 pm | Updated April 10, 2024 10:07 am IST - MADURAI

Is Tamil Nadu a bird sanctuary for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the State only during the election season, asked DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in Madurai on Tuesday.

Speaking at a public meeting in support of CPI(M)‘s Lok Sabha candidate for Madurai Su.Venkatesan and Congress candidate for Sivaganga Karti Chidambaram, Mr. Stalin asked with what face Mr. Modi had come to Tamil Nadu to seek votes. “What has he done for the people of Tamil Nadu? Why so much hatred against the people of Tamil Nadu. Are we not the citizens of the country?,” he questioned.

“Such treatment by the Centre was not only against Tamil Nadu, but against all the States ruled by the Opposition parties. Both Kerala and Karnataka had to knock the doors of the Supreme Court against the Centre for financial relief. West Bengal, Maharashtra, Delhi and Jharkhand have also been treated in a similar fashion. Opposition leaders have been arrested and sent behind bars,” he said.

The BJP-led Union government was using Central agencies like Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and Central Bureau of Investigation and also Governors against the States ruled by the Opposition, Mr. Stalin charged. “This is Modi’s India and if you speak against it, you’ll face the consequences. Mr. Modi has no intention to take action against corruption as the corrupt are with him,” he said.

“Mr. Modi talks about Sthree Sakthi and women empowerment. Did he open his mouth when women wrestlers protested in Delhi against his partyman on the charges of sexual harassment? Did he open his mouth when Gujarat granted remission to those who had sexually assaulted Bilkis Bano? Has Mr. Modi met the people affected by the ethnic violence in Manipur?,” he asked and also referred to the sexual assault and murder of an eight-year-old in Jammu and Kashmir, and incidents in Unnao and Hathras. “They even tried to stop Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi from visiting the family of the Hathras victim,” Mr. Stalin said.

According to Mr. Stalin, the BJP has sowed the seeds of hatred and sent those who spoke for the people to jail. Gauri Lankesh and Kalburgi were killed. The people of Tamil Nadu will never accept the BJP and Mr. Modi. They will know on June 6, he said.

“Mr. Modi claims that the DMK alliance is against religion. We are not against any religion but only against those who divide people on the basis of religion. We have conducted consecration ceremonies in temples, retrieved temple lands, ensured that qualified persons belonging to any community can become priests and Tamil is used in temples, implemented annadhanam scheme and set up health centres in temples,” he said.

“The BJP claims that we have stopped the development of the State. It was they who stopped the Sethusamudram project; and the AIIMS project in Madurai is a non-starter. For every rupee the State pays as Tax, it gets only 29 paise,” he said.

Mr. Stalin said that under the erstwhile UPA government, several welfare schemes were launched for the benefit of farmers and students, and infrastructure development and development of Tamil. The DMK-led State government constructed the Keeladi museum in Sivaganga district, Kalaignar Centenary library and a Jallikattu arena in Madurai, he said.

The DMK-led government had introduced various welfare schemes for the benefit of the people and also retrieved the State from financial debts, into which it was pushed by the AIADMK. The AIADMK was BJP’S B-team which was why the AIADMK general secretary, Edappadi K. Palaniswami did not criticise the party, Mr. Stalin said.

Health and Education are the two eyes of the Dravidian model of governance, he said.

Mr. Modi has not fulfilled his poll promises. If the India Bloc is voted to power, a caste-based census will be conducted, vacancies in posts for SC/ST/OBCs will be filled, laws against the minorities and the working class will be repealed and the anomalies in the GST regime will be set right, fuel prices will be reduced, loan waiver for farmers and other welfare schemes will be launched, he said.

The upcoming election will not only determine the MP of the constituency, but the next Prime Minister too. Let the next Prime Minister be who will cancel NEET, ensure minimum wages under the MGNREGA, look into farmers’ concerns and who respects the Constitution and is secular unlike the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said. “Let your votes save India, Tamil Nadu and the future generation and down fascism,” he said.

Former Union Minister P. Chidambaram, DMK Ministers P. Moorthy, I. Periyasamy, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Siva V. Meyyanathan, S. Regupathy, CPI(M) State secretary K. Balakrishnan, candidates Su. Venkatesan and Karti Chidambaram and other alliance party representatives were present.