KANNIYAKUMARI/THOOTHUKUDI/TIRUNELVELI: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of taking an anti-national action against union of states for using women’s reservation as a cover to push through the delimitation Bill in Parliament. Rahul also attacked BJP’s ally AIADMK, alleging that its leadership has “surrendered” to the saffron party because of “corruption”.
Campaigning for DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance candidates in the districts, Rahul said Modi told the nation that he wanted to implement women’s reservation, “but the real plan was to change the electoral map of India. He wanted to reduce the number of seats of southern states, north-eastern states and smaller states in Lok Sabha”.
Basically, the BJP-led centre intended to change the balance of power in India and weaken the representation of South India, including Tamil Nadu and Kerala; smaller states like Uttarakand, Chhattisgarh; and north-eastern states, he added.
“That is why, we stopped and defeated the Bill in Parliament. We will continue to defeat any Bill that tries to take away the representation of anybody in our country. If the BJP wants women’s reservation, it should implement its 2023 Act,” he said.
Claiming that Modi is completely under the control of US President Donald Trump, the Congress leader alleged that the PM signed the US-India trade deal by surrendering the country’s agriculture, industry, data and energy security. Rahul made these allegations while campaigning at Sawyerpuram in Thoothukudi.
“Donald Trump openly says Modi calls him ‘Sir’, which is a dishonour to the Indian Prime Minister,” he said, adding that Modi expects a similar behaviour from the CM of Tamil Nadu.
“He wants TN Chief Minister M K Stlain to call him ‘Sir’, but it will never ever happen,” Rahul said. He alleged that the AIADMK is an instrument for the BJP to enter Tamil Nadu as the AIADMK leadership has submitted itself to the alliance party due to corruption.
“We will defeat the RSS and the AIADMK’s plan to hand over the control of TN to Narendra Modi and (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah,” he said.
The RSS hates the Dravidian idea because they know the Tamils resist them, he said, adding that the BJP does not accept what the Constitution says, it wants to weaken the hold of different states and especially wants to rule TN from Delhi.
So it has pocketed the AIADMK in the state. “There were leaders in the AIADMK who truly represented the people of TN. But today the AIADMK is a hollow shell. Their corruption has trapped them and they cannot do anything against the wishes of the BJP,” Rahul said.
Campaigning in Tirunelveli’s Nanguneri, Rahul recalled former CM K Kamaraj’s contribution to TN. He credited the Congress giant for initiating social development by implementing public education and mid-day meal scheme in TN. Before starting his speech in Kanniyakumari, Rahul offered his condolences to all the families whose members died in Sunday’s firecracker unit explosion in Virudhunagar district.
