CHENNAI: DMK mouthpiece Murasoli’s editorial on Thursday slammed BJP for claiming INS Vikrant as the success of the BJP-led government. The editorial said 80% of the work was completed during the Manmohan Singh era. It is new in the TN political scenario for the DMK to come forward to defend the grand old party, even though the State unit of the Congress party didn’t raise any opposition against the BJP’s claim.
Murasoli’s editorial elaborated on the success story of INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, and said the BJP-led Union government did nothing except put its (BJP’s) label on the carrier. The editorial went on about the initial days of INS Vikrant saying that the talks to build a new indigenous aircraft carrier started in 1999 with the Vajpayee-led BJP government and it allocated Rs 2,000 crore. But the work for the ship commenced only in 2005, under the Manmohan Singh led UPA-1 government.
Later, the design of the ship was changed to make it 38,000 tonnes ,instead of the original 20,000 tonnes. The foundation for the ship was laid on February 28, 2009, and 80% of its work was done when the Congress was at the Centre.
The editorial further elaborated on the various stages of its construction and its trial in the Ernakulam canal in 2011. The mouthpiece further charged the BJP saying that the ship should have been commissioned into the Indian Navy five years ago but the commissioning was dragged out because of the BJP-led government. Murasoli also quoted former union minister and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s observation that the Modi government has nothing to do with this. The Modi government just happens to be in power when it is being commissioned and Modi is taking credit for it.
The editorial defending the Congress and slamming the BJP voluntarily has come as a surprise in the Tamil Nadu political arena. Veteran journalist and political observer, T Koodalarasan commented on the editorial saying, “It is a rare gesture among the alliance partners, except in the coalition government, to come forward to defend one party. But the DMK has come forward to defend the Congress since the party wants to project itself as anti-BJP.”
He added that the editorial was published even though the Congress leaders in the state failed to counter the saffron party on the issue since they were busy with the preparations of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
However, by publishing the editorial against the saffron party and to show their support for Rahul Gandhi’s prime ministerial candidature, it seems the DMK started its campaign for the upcoming parliament general election in 2024.