DMK leader T K S Elangovan on Sunday accused the BJP of systematically targeting regional parties, alleging that the ruling party at the Centre viewed them as major threat amid the Congress' weakened position.
Reacting to the summons issued to the Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in a land case and notices sent to AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's family in Delhi, Elangovan alleged that the BJP views regional parties as its major threat.
"The BJP is very much afraid of the regional parties because the Congress is weak," he said, adding that regional outfits are now uniting to fight the BJP.
Backing CPI(M) leader MV Rajan's call for maximum opposition unity rather than a third front, Elangovan stated that ideologically, all these parties are opposed to the BJP and plan to expose the party to the public to gain votes.
He also accused the BJP of trying to convert democratic India into a "monopolistic India" and acting as if they are the "kings of this country" by refusing to address the people's grievances.
Turning his guns on the TVK government, the DMK leader claimed it had completely "failed" to maintain law and order over the past 100 days. "Within yesterday, eight murders happened," he said, alleging that the ruling party was raking up 50-year-old charges against the DMK because they had no answers for their own recent failures.
Defending DMK president MK Stalin's assertion that he did not need to prove his arrest under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), Elangovan noted that the state-appointed Justice Ismail Commission had already confirmed the arrest. "Why should he prove that he was arrested under MISA?" he asked.
Elangovan also agreed with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's assertion that the system is suppressing students, stating that it is the fundamental right of any citizen to fight against the government for a genuine cause.
He emphasised that elected governments have a constitutional duty to meet agitators and redress their grievances rather than shutting them down.
