THOOTHUKUDI: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government has failed to control the drug menace in the country, claimed Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president Selvaperunthugai on Monday.
Addressing media persons at Thoothukudi airport, Sevlaperunthugai said Modi has been soliciting votes from people in Tamil Nadu without providing any money for the flood relief and restoration works, even though the state government had sought Rs 37,000 crore.
“The Prime Minister thinks he can hoodwink Tamils, just like he cheated people in the north. But Tamils will never forget his apathy, and are ready to give it back to him appropriately in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
Stating that the INDIA bloc parties are working for the elections, he said that the alliance will sweep the Lok Sabha polls, winning 400 seats. “The BJP is worried about losing,” he said while referring to the case of Bhagavan Singh, a BJP candidate who refused to contest from the party’s ticket in West Bengal.
When asked about AIADMK functionary D Jayakumar’s remarks on Congress allying with the AIADMK, Selvaperunthugai said that the AIADMK has always been keen on allying with the Congress, but the same did not materialise as the DMK is a long-time ally of the Congress.
“DMK president and chief minister MK Stalin never underestimates the Congress, and the seat-sharing talks are progressing smoothly,” he said.
On state BJP chief K Annamalai’s accusation that Tamil Nadu is the drug capital of the country, Selvaperunthugai said that Mundra and Kandla port in Gujarat, the home state of the prime minister, is the centre of the drug mafia.
“Several thousand tonnes of drugs have been seized at the ports in Gujarat, which has been a gateway for drugs. From Gujarat, the drugs and contraband are smuggled to Tamil Nadu via Krishnapatnam port in Andhra Pradesh,” the state Congress chief said.
Stating that the union government’s intelligence agencies such as the RAW, Intelligence Bureau, Central Armed Police Forces and others are under the prime minister’s control, he said Modi had failed to control the drug menace. “Without the knowledge of the union government’s agencies such as the Narcotics Control Bureau, the contraband cannot be moved between states,” he added.
During his visit to Chennai, the prime minister must explain why he failed to control the drug menace. He must also issue a white paper regarding the promises to provide two crore jobs to tackle unemployment, enhancing the Indian rupee to make its value on par with the US dollar, and improving the MSME sector, among others, he stated.