CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday said the BJP is attempting to run parallel governments across States through its governors, and the BJP-led Centre is following anti-people policies. Speaking at the India @ 75 Conclave in Thrissur through video conference, Stalin asserted that the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu is an alliance of ideologies and it will continue.
Launching a broadside against the BJP, the CM said, “Those who attempt to impose one faith, one language, and one culture are indeed trying to destroy the unity of the country and they are the real enemies of India. We should never ever give room to these evil forces.”
Stalin’s remarks came as a strong clarification to speculations that the bonhomie displayed by the CM and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the inauguration of the 44th Chess Olympiad might translate into an alliance between the DMK and the BJP in the future. Though most of the charges made by Stalin against the BJP-led Centre were not new, reiterating them and renewing the call for a united opposition showed the DMK’s commitment to building a united opposition to counter the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, political observers said.
While the PM hailed the National Education Policy during his address on Friday at the convocation, Stalin on Saturday called the policy a barrier to education. The CM also said the GST has robbed the States of their fiscal autonomy and tax compensation is neither released in full nor in time. Entrance examinations like NEET deny education to the oppressed, Stalin said.
“India is not just a single government. It is a Union of several State governments. As such calling the Central government as Union government is not a wrong as even our constitution has this phrase. To safeguard India, we have to safeguard all States. We have to strengthen the principles of federalism, State autonomy, secularism, equality, fraternity, socialism, and social justice. Protecting all these would mean protecting India,” Stalin said.
Referring to the famous quote of former Chief Minister CN Annadurai that uniformity is different from unity, Stalin said, “You cannot achieve unity by bringing uniformity. A single language cannot become the national language as India has numerous languages. ‘One Nation, One Faith’ will not suit India since people have numerous faiths. There is no single culture for India since we have thousands of different food and clothing practices. Amid all these differences, it’s love and humanity that has been sustaining the nation’s unity in diversity. Strong States are the basis for a strong India. If States are strong, powerful, and self-reliant, it would only add strength to India and it should not be construed as weakness of the country.”