CHENNAI/VILLUPURAM: The AIADMK top leadership held seat-sharing talks with BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Chennai on Sunday night. The three-hour-long talks he held with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Paneerselvam at a luxury hotel went on well past midnight. It is learnt that any breakthrough may be announced on Monday.
Shah, who landed in Chennai early on Sunday, visited Puducherry and Villupuram before returning to Chennai late at night for the talks. It is learnt Shah’s itinerary was changed to accommodate the late-night meeting. He left for Delhi after the talks. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, BJP State unit president L Murugan and former Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan were present during the talks. If AIADMK finalises the poll pact with the BJP, the most crucial part of the alliance’s seat-sharing deal will be complete. The task of stitching up the other parties is expected to be completed soon.
The talks assume significance after AIADMK inked the poll deal the previous day with the PMK by allocating 23 seats. Similarly, AIADMK is also in talks with the DMDK. State ministers SP Velumani and P Thangamani along with AIADMK deputy coordinator KP Munusamy called on him on Saturday and a decision is expected on Monday.
Earlier on Sunday, the BJP’s camaraderie with the AIADMK got a fresh booster shot when Shah heaped praises on the Palaniswami government for its handling of the Covid-19 outbreak. “Tamil Nadu stood number one in governance in general, and amid the pandemic too, for which I congratulate Palaniswami and Panneerselvam,” Shah said while addressing a massive public meeting at Janakipuram Ground.
Asserting that the BJP would ally with the AIADMK for the elections in April, he took potshots at the Opposition, accusing it of indulging in corruption. He lashed out at the DMK over the 2G spectrum case, saying Tamil Nadu has 2G, 3G and 4G — two generations of Murasoli Maran’s family, three of M Karunanidhi’s family, and four of Jawaharlal Nehru’s family — all vying for power.
In a scathingly raw attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Shah said, “Rahul baba goes to watch jallikattu live to show solidarity with Tamil people, forgetting that it was the Congress that had banned jallikattu. The BJP and AIADMK had revoked the ban.” Greeting the crowd with a warm “vanakkam” when he climbed onto the dais, Shah proceeded with an elaborate introduction, highlighting that Tamil is the oldest and sweetest language. He also apologised for not speaking in it.
‘There’s no Indian culture without Tamil culture’
“There is no Indian culture without Tamil culture, one of the oldest in the world. Tamils take pride in their language and culture across the country and world. People in India respect Tamil,” Shah stated. This resonated with what Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier said that he rued the fact that he did not learn Tamil. Alleging that the DMK and Congress indulge in dynasty politics, while the AIADMK and BJP are democratic, he said, “When Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath, he promised on his first day in Parliament that this government would work for the welfare of Dalits, Adivasis, the marginalised and poor.
He has kept his promise till this day.” Shah further listed out schemes introduced by the BJP government at the Centre, including toilets, electricity for all households, eradication of homelessness by providing free houses to the poor by 2022, introduction of affordable LPG cylinders for Dalits and the poor, post-matric scholarships worth Rs 59,000 crore for Dalit and Adivasi students credited directly to their accounts, and health insurance worth Rs 5 lakh for the poor. “Keeping in mind the great visionaries and saviours of the poor, such as MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, who provided free meals at schools, the Narendra Modi-led Central government made it a national scheme.
Similarly, India’s national security is top notch under Modi’s rule, as shown by a prompt retaliation to Pakistan’s attack at Pulwama,” Shah asserted. Making an ornate mention of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar hailing from Tamil Nadu, Shah sought the people’s cheer as he asked them, “The two most powerful ministers of this country come from this soil, so won’t you make this alliance win in the Assembly elections in April?” Shah stated that the Centre had allotted a massive fund of Rs 1 lakh crore for the road development in the State, Rs 63,000 crore for construction of Phase II of the Metro Rail in Chennai, and `33 crore for other various welfare schemes for the State.
For the benefit of 30,000 crore farmers amid the pandemic, loans were provided by NABARD, and fishermen will receive benefits through the Blue revolution, which was initiated in 2019, informed Shah in his speech. Praising the Modi-led NDA government, Shah stated that various unprecedented steps to develop Tamil Nadu were taken by setting up a defence corridor in TN, helping thousands of youngsters get jobs, giving Rs 1 lakh crore for the Sagar Mala scheme, and Rs 12,464 crore for an AIIMS Hospital in Madurai along with Rs 137 crore for development along the East Coast Road, running the Chennai-Madurai Tejaswi Express, renaming Chennai Central after the “great” leader MGR, and allowing railway announcements in Tamil.
Concluding his speech, Shah asked, “So my dear brothers and sisters, decide for yourself – do you need a State government that’s always at loggerheads with the Centre, or one that will bring development to Tamil Nadu like a double-engine-powered train? With the efforts of L Murugan, the Vel Yatra was partially successful because the real victory of Vel Yatra will only be fulfilled with a victory in the elections in April.” BJP leaders from the State L Ganesan, Pon Radhakrishnan, CP Radhakrishnan, H Raja, Nainar Nagendran, Vanathi Srinivasan, former IPS officer K Annamalai, and general secretary KT Ragavan were present at the meeting.