THOOTHUKUDI: Taking a dig at the BJP, Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said that the saffron party refrained from fielding former Puducherry Governor Dr Tamilisai Sounderrajan in the district to avoid defeat here. Kanimozhi was on a canvassing trail at Kovilpatti on Wednesday, when she also said that 44 BJP MPs face charges of crimes against women.
Speaking at Vembar, the sitting MP questioned if Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ever visited the restive Manipur and exhorted the women there, assuring them safety. "Women's safety in the BJP-led government has been abysmal," she said and further accused the BJP of silencing journalists and opposition leaders who question them, thereby endangering freedom of expression. Two chief ministers of the opposition camp have been imprisoned, while journalists and politicians have been threatened and killed in the last 10 years of BJP rule, she added.
Taking up the issues around price hike on gas, fuel, and toll, Kanimozhi said such factors exacerbated the impact of inflation. Kanimozhi accused the BJP government of crippling the rural job market by reducing allotments under the MGNREGS. "Yet, the government made Rs 21,000 crore just by deducting charges for not maintaining minimum balance in the savings bank account. We demanded that the government waive off loans of farmers and students, but they refused. But, they wrote off `15 lakh crore of corporate dues," Kanimozhi said, and added that many farmers died by suicide due to unpaid debt.
Continuing with her barrage of attacks, Kanimozhi said that the centre refused to enact a law on minimum support price (MSP), or send flood relief to Tamil Nadu, but "allotted funds for Sanskrit even though the language has no speakers."
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his frequent visits to Tamil Nadu, Kanimozhi said that Modi has been trying to charm Tamils by reciting couplets from the Thirukkural, and added that the PM's love towards the Tamil language has sprouted just because of the election. "Since the BJP has less patronage in Thoothukudi, it did not field a candidate against DMK. The last candidate has shifted base to South Chennai constituency. This time she (Tamilisai) will not become a governor, because the INDIA bloc will win," Kanimozhi said.
Kanimozhi went around Therku Thittankulam, Vijayapuri, Karisalkulam, Pasuvanthanai road, Barathi Nagar, AV school, Kovilpatti bus stand, Kamarajar statue, and Jothi Nagar in Kovilpatti assembly segment.