Vellore: Hours after warning the Union govt against the delimitation exercise, chief minister M K Stalin launched a fresh attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of painting Tamil Nadu in a bad light. He also hit out at Union minister Piyush Goyal for his remarks that those who object to the delimitation exercise were ‘uneducated’.At an election rally in Tirupattur, Stalin said Modi was targeting Tamil Nadu’s achievements with ‘unverified data’. “Should a person in the high office of PM speak against a state without reading data? Is this befitting of the post he holds,” Stalin asked. He challenged the PM to look at the Union govt’s economic survey and observations from international bodies such as the UN before making allegations. “We wouldn’t care if a BJP member speaks like this. But the PM belongs to all states. Do not weigh Tamil Nadu down based on a few ‘slaves’ who bow before you in Delhi,” he added.Flaying Piyush Goyal, Stalin said the Union minister should stop speaking with ‘arrogance’. “Mr Piyush Goyal, hold your tongue,” Stalin remarked. “You are merely the BJP’s in-charge for TN. Do not speak with such arrogance. Tamils are a self-respecting and knowledgeable people. If you insult our dignity, the retaliation from Tamil Nadu against your arrogance in Delhi will be severe,” he said.Speaking at Vellore, Stalin termed Parliament’s special session on constituency delimitation a “fascist conspiracy” to punish states that successfully implemented population control. “I have directed all our MPs to go to Delhi immediately to fight this. If you pass this against our will, you will see a different face of DMK,” he said. Stalin attacked AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, calling him a “political chameleon” who acts as a mask for the BJP’s entry into TN. “A vote for AIADMK is a vote for the BJP, which will push TN back by a hundred years,” he warned.
