'Depressed' as hate campaigns by him not working, PM denigrating welfare measures by Oppn govts: Stalin

Chennai: Tearing into Narendra Modi for his criticism of the free bus scheme for women, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M K Stalin on Saturday accused the Prime Minister of “denigrating” welfare measures of governments ruled by opposition parties as he was “depressed” that his “hatred campaigns” have failed to benefit the BJP.

In a hard-hitting statement, Stalin also said the Prime Minister was resorting to narrating “imaginary tales and bags of lies” by alleging that leaders from South India were speaking in a derogatory manner about people from Uttar Pradesh during his campaign trail in India’s largest state.

“Narendra Modi has thrown to the wind the dignity of the office of Prime Minister. He spreads hatred every passing hour and sows seeds of hatred among the people of India. People of the country are watching with shock and dismay at the irresponsible statements of the Prime Minister and the radio silence of the Election Commission of India,” Stalin said.

He said the Prime Minister instead of talking about the demand for removing the 50 per cent ceiling on reservation for backward classes and Scheduled Castes among others in a state like Uttar Pradesh where people are waiting to hear his views on the issue. “Instead, he concentrates only on spreading hatred among people,” he added.

The Chief Minister also accused the BJP of encouraging fake news peddlers like Manish Kashyap, who was arrested by the Tamil Nadu police for spreading fake news that north Indian people in the state were being attacked.

Referring to Modi’s statement that free bus schemes of various state governments have led to less patronage among women in metro systems, Stalin said the Prime Minister’s statements prove that he has “scant disregard” for truth as the number of passengers who took metro rail in Chennai rose to 9.11 crore in 2023 from 3.28 crore in 2019.

“Modi, who hasn’t released any funds for the second phase of Chennai Metro after approving the project, chooses to criticize free bus travel,” Stalin said, hailing the free bus travel scheme for women in town buses across Tamil Nadu.

“I think Modi fears schemes that ensure development of women because he subscribes to the retrograde ideology of the RSS,” Stalin added.