Congress veteran Kamaraj set an example of honesty in politics, he said while addressing a massive NDA rally ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls.
He also accused the DMK government of “stealing” from the poor, youth, farmers and said such a corrupt dispensation had no moral right to continue.
Addressing the rally, NDA’s second after the Maduranthakam event near Chennai on January 23, he said the people have decided to bring NDA to power in Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK leads the NDA in Tamil Nadu and the constituents include BJP and AMMK.
Tamil Nadu, which kept Congress out of power in the state for six decades, was the first to become “Congress-mukt,” he said using his oft-repeated poll punchline to target the national party.
“For this, Congress took revenge against Tamil Nadu. It was Congress that gave away Katchatheevu, and then DMK didn’t do anything,” he said about the ceding of the islet to Sri Lanka by the government of India in the 1970s.
With the Congress in power at the Centre and DMK supporting them, their government issued a notification banning the famous bull-taming sport Jallikattu. “Through an ordinance, it was we who ensured Jallikattu could continue,” Modi said.Flaying the DMK on corruption, Modi said that when it came to honesty in politics, former CM Kamaraj set an example for the whole country.
“But the DMK is an example of the exact opposite (and involved in) Rs 365 crore cash for transfer scam, Rs 900 crore cash for job scam, Rs 1000 crore cash for contract scam, and Rs 4,700 crore sand mining scam,” he alleged.
Usually, ministers competed with one another in good work but in the Dravidian party, they did so in scams, Modi alleged.
“But who are they stealing from…from the poor, from the youth, from the farmers. Such a corrupt government has no moral right to continue. That’s why the people of Tamil Nadu have decided to bring in an NDA government. We will give clean and efficient governance,” he said at the rally attended by key alliance party leaders, including AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran and PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss.
Without naming Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who while speaking at an event in Coimbatore had said the DMK was not afraid of the PM or his father, Modi remarked “recently, I heard that someone from the DMK said that they don’t fear my father or me.”
“Let me say this clearly–in a democracy, nobody fears anyone. So, when someone says they don’t fear me, they aren’t criticising me; actually, they are appreciating my commitment to democratic values. Unknowingly, they have given a badge of honour,” he said.
On the law and order situation in the state, the Prime Minister said women were in deep trouble as crimes were increasing and were finding their families being destroyed by the drug mafia and alcohol. They remember how much better their lives used to be in late Chief Minister J Jayalalitha’s rule.
“I assure every mother, sister and daughter of Tamil Nadu, as soon as the NDA government comes in, we will focus on law and order,” Modi said and added that drug mafia and criminals will be put behind bars and the bloc would ensure women’s safety, dignity and empowerment.
He claimed that the DMK neither worked for the poor nor allowed others to work and said that nearly three lakh houses under the PM Awaas Yojana remained pending as the party-led government has not conducted surveys and delayed the process. “Why should lakhs of poor families suffer for DMK’s petty politics,” he asked.
Despite coming to power in 2021, the DMK failed to deliver good governance and “looted the state, furthering dynastic politics and ignored people’s aspirations.”
“The DMK brought mafia-style politics to Madurai. They gave bad roads, poor drainage and a lack of waste management. They took Madurai to the bottom of the national ranking in cleanliness,” Modi said and added that the DMK Mayor of Madurai had to resign due to corruption.
“This is their model, money for themselves, problems for the people,” the Prime Minister said ridiculing Chief Minister M K Stalin’s claims on the Dravidian government as a medium of good governance.
Pointing out that the NDA rally was giving “nightmares to those dreaming of returning to power” he said “Tamil Nadu has made up its mind and the people have decided that DMK has to be sent out.”
People also know very clearly that only an NDA can bring change and that the next government of Tamil Nadu will be “an NDA government”, Modi asserted.
The PM, who offered prayers at the Sri Subrahmanya Swamy temple, Tirupparankundram before addressing the rally, said he felt sad that a young devotee (Purnachandra) sacrificed his life (as the lamp could not be lit atop the stone pillar for Karthigai deepam festival last year following a row). He met the bereaved family and offered his condolences, he said.
Modi’s visit to the shrine follows a controversy last year over lighting of lamp on the “deepathoon” (pillar) on the hilltop with the matter reaching the court.
The court ruled in favour of the devotees’ right to light the lamp at the “deepathoon.”
