DMK President M K Stalin on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the BJP, accusing it of “working overtime” to “destroy” India’s democracy and diversity and punched holes in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “lecture against corruption”, seeking to know how can he talk about such issues while sitting next to people who are under the scanner of agencies.
Addressing booth in-charges of the DMK from 15 districts in Tiruchirapalli, Stalin also accused Modi of “targeting” his party “wherever he goes” because the Dravidian party played an important role in bringing together Opposition parties under the I.N.D.I.A. alliance. The Chief Minister also alleged that the BJP was following the “2002 Gujarat Model” in Manipur by pitting one community against the other and tore into the AIADMK for not speaking up on the violence in the north-eastern state.
On corruption, Stalin said Modi shouldn’t talk about such issues after sharing the stage with AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, who he said went to the Supreme Court to get a stay on a CBI probe ordered by him by the Madras High Court.
“The BJP used the corruption cases against AIADMK ministers to threaten them. The AIADMK compromised the state’s interest on several occasions due to the fear of the BJP. None of these people should lecture us,” Stalin said.
Stalin, while asking the booth in-charges to ensure that the party wins all 40 Lok Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, told them to meet voters in their booths at least once every month and canvass for the DMK. “Meet 10 families a day and you can cover all families in your booth in a month. Do this every month. You have to be in constant touch with the voters. You will have to be proactive in solving their genuine problems,” Stalin said.
Stalin also exhorted over 12,000 booth in-charges present at the meeting to be “assertive” on social media platforms by talking about the “achievements” of the two-year-old DMK government. “Don’t get into unnecessary trouble and bring a bad name to the party. Use social media for the good,” he added.
Talking about the 2024 polls, Stalin mocked Governor R N Ravi yet again, saying he is campaigning for the DMK and asked the Union Government not to remove him for the post as his continuance might “get more votes for the DMK.”
“Our alliance should win not just in Tamil Nadu but across the country. It is a necessity because the BJP has destroyed the democratic framework in the country. We have to stop the BJP, else we cannot save India. If the BJP comes back to power again, there won’t be democracy in the country. They will destroy everything,” Stalin added.
He also accused the BJP of trying to reduce the representation of MPs from south India through delimitation, saying states that did exceedingly well in population control might lose seats in the Parliament. Stalin also criticized the Prime Minister for calling the DMK a “dynastic party”, saying “we are the heirs” of Annadurai and Karunanidhi. “We are the Dravidian heirs who came to end Aryanism. You are the heirs of (Nathuram) Godse. Can you declare that openly,” he asked.