Who smiled before PM Modi? A war of ‘photos’ in Tamil Nadu

Chennai: Is smiling before Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrong? It looks like, if one goes by the campaign speeches of DMK minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami. 

The latest war of words between the ruling DMK and principal opposition AIADMK is over who laughed or smiled before Modi, making the Prime Minister the central piece of their campaign for the April 19 Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu.

It began on March 24 when Palaniswami, the AIADMK general secretary, taunted Udhayanidhi for yet again holding a brick in his campaign to drive home his point that the BJP-led Union Government hasn’t moved forward in building an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai despite Modi himself laying the foundation stone in 2019. 

“He has taken the brick (Udhay brandishing the brick in the 2021 campaign was an instant hit) yet again. What is the use of showing the brick only during elections? Why didn’t the DMK MPs show it in Parliament? Udhayanidhi should change his script,” Palaniswami said. 

Udhay had in 2021 showed a brick and called it AIIMS, to mock the AIADMK and BJP, who were in an alliance then, and accused them of failing to walk the talk. 

On March 25, while seeking votes in Kanchipuram, Udhay told Palaniswami “not to provoke him” and showed a picture of the former chief minister and Modi sharing a lighter moment at the 2019 AIIMS event. “EPS says I should change the script…at least I showed a brick. See, what is he showing? He is showing his teeth (to the PM),” Udhay said, displaying the picture. 

A day later, Palaniswami gave it back to Udhay in a similar fashion by displaying a picture of the DMK minister and his father and Chief Minister M K Stalin sharing a laugh with Modi on different occasions. “Who is laughing here? Stalin doesn’t smile, but he smiles only before Modi. Isn’t this the same person (Udhay) who is criticising me for laughing before the PM? If he laughs before the PM, it is right. If I do the same, it is wrong. How is this acceptable?” he asked, showing another picture. 

The picture war continues with Udhay displaying a picture of Palaniswami falling at the feet of V K Sasikala, the long-time aide of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and challenging him to show a photo of him falling at the “feet of anyone.” “If you show such a photo, I will quit politics,” Udhay said. 

AIIMS, Madurai has been a topic of discussion even inside Parliament for the past few years with Madurai and Virudhunagar MPs, Su Venkatesan, and Manickam Tagore, raising the issue consistently.