Launching a broadside against the BJP, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin on Saturday charged the saffron party with indulging in a hate campaign to tarnish the image of the state so as to reap electoral dividends in the northern states.
“Unable to digest the rapid strides Tamil Nadu has made in development, the BJP is indulging in a hate campaign against the state with the sole intention of reaping electoral dividends in the northern states. Union Ministers themselves are engaging in spreading this hatred with vehemence. However, this has boomeranged, with YouTubers coming to our defence on learning the great strides that Tamil Nadu and the south is making in growth and development. They are posting videos on Tamil Nadu being distinct and the south leapfrogging in the economic development of the country,” he said at a government function to inaugurate completed projects and lay the foundation for new ones in Tiruvannamalai district.
“The Dravidian Model government has earned the goodwill of even those who have not voted for the DMK. On the contrary, the tyrannical BJP-led Union government is being trashed even by its diehard supporters for ethanol-mixed petrol, toxic air pollution in the national capital Delhi, the rupee’s downward slide, statues and bridges built by BJP governments collapsing in a few days,” he said, adding, “The BJP-led Union government seldom considers any demands and disregards fair criticism.”
Turning his ire at the Modi government, he accused it of erasing the name of Gandhiji from the MGNREGA scheme and dismantling it altogether.
“Tiruvannamalai is a district with more villages than any other district, and agriculture is the only occupation. It is these people who understand the importance of the 100-day work programme. But the Union BJP government is scripting the epitaph for it. The MGNREGA has succeeded in eradicating poverty and in enhancing monetary circulation. Not only has Gandhiji’s name been erased, but the programme as people’s right has been taken away. Having gradually wrecked it over the last 10 years, they have finally put an end card. We are opposing it both in Parliament and in the people’s fora,” he said, and accused AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami of supporting the VB-G RAMG act that replaced the MGNREGA even though he claims to be hailing from a farmer’s family. The AIADMK had voted in favour of the legislation in the Rajya Sabha, he pointed out.
The Chief Minister also lashed out at Governor RN Ravi, terming him a person working against the Tamils and the state. “He (Ravi) has been sent here with the sole purpose of giving trouble and placing stumbling blocks. And there are also traitors of Tamil Nadu and slaves who have surrendered themselves. Overcoming these challenges, the Dravidian Model has succeeded,” Stalin said.
Recalling that Tiruvannamalai has given the DMK its first MP, he expressed confidence that with the support of the people, Dravidian Model government 2.0 will come to power in the coming assembly election.