MADURAI/VIRUDHUNAGAR: Launching a blistering attack on the BJP, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday said the people of Madurai want peace and to live in harmony, and that is in Tamil Nadu’s DNA, but the “divisive forces” were trying to destroy it. “The NDA wants to alter TN’s DNA with its ‘dabba engine’.”
Addressing an election rally in Thirumangalam to campaign for all 10 DMK alliance candidates from Madurai district, the CM said, “Aryan model seeks to destroy development and communal harmony, while the Dravidian model has turned Tamil Nadu into the number one state in the country which the BJP is not able to tolerate.” He said,
“The BJP’s anger is not only against the DMK, it harbours hatred towards Tamil Nadu too.” Targeting Union Minister Piyush Goyal for questioning Tamil Nadu’s finances, Stalin challenged the centre to make public a state-wise comparison of tax devolution.
“Tell the people how much Tamil Nadu gets back for every rupee it contributes to the union government, and how much the BJP-ruled northern states receive. If TN was getting the same share, we would not be facing this financial strain,” the CM said. On Saturday, Goyal claimed that “Tamil Nadu is heading towards bankruptcy”, while releasing the BJP’s white paper on TN finances.
On the long-pending Madurai AIIMS project, the CM said it has become a symbol of the centre’s neglect. He questioned why the BJP could complete AIIMS Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh within five years but not the one in Madurai.
During his speech he also mentioned TNIE article about Madurai becoming a growth hub. Stalin also campaigned in Virudhunagar district in the morning before the meeting in Thirumangalam in Madurai.
Dismissing opposition leader Edappadi K Palaniswami’s claims that due respect was not given to former chief minister and Congress giant K Kamaraj, the CM said that when Kamaraj passed away, DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi chose the site for Kamaraj’s cremation at Gandhi Mandapam amidst the midnight rain.
Addressing a public meeting in Chatrarediyapatti, Stalin noted that when there were discussions about keeping Kamaraj’s body at the Congress ground in Teynampet for public homage, Karunanidhi insisted that Kamaraj was not just a party leader but a leader for all, and ensured that his body was placed at Rajaji Mandapam for the public to pay their last respects. “After aligning with Sanghi forces, EPS relies on WhatsApp rumours,” he said.
Stalin further pointed out that if the allegations raised by EPS were true, they would have sparked controversy at the time. But instead, leaders of the TN Congress had praised Karunanidhi in their writings. Referring to another instance,
Stalin said that after the demise of Janaki Ramachandran, who was also CM for a few years, it was Karunanidhi who ensured her portrait was installed at the fort during the DMK regime in 1996, even though AIADMK leaders had not done it earlier.
He alleged that the NDA has consistently acted against TN. However, during elections it projects itself as being pro-Tamil and even tries to appropriate leaders like Kamaraj and MGR. “It was this group in 1966 which tried to set Kamaraj’s residence in Delhi on fire,” he alleged.
The CM also accused EPS of betraying multiple sections, including farmers, women, minorities, and even his own party members once such as K A Sengottaiyan, V K Sasikala, T T V Dhinakaran, O Panneerselvam, and P Dhanapal.
“If betrayal has a face, it is EPS,” Stalin said. Following the meeting in Madurai, Stalin took out a roadshow in Madurai city on his way to the city airport.