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INDIA must win, BJP wants to ruin states’ autonomy: Stalin
Stalin launched a sharp attack on the Centre, saying it was operating as a “vengeful body primed against state governments run by opposition parties
The INDIA grouping of 28 political parties can provide solutions to many problems faced by the country, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin said in his first podcast episode on Monday, adding that the opposition alliance must win the next general elections to ensure the entire country doesn’t turn into Manipur and Haryana, which have been riven by ethnic and communal clashes.
In a sharp attack on the Centre, Stalin alleged the Union government is acting as a “vengeful body primed against state governments run by opposition parties”. “They only want to destroy the sovereignty of the state governments, which are directly responsible for the welfare of the people,” he said in his podcast named “Speaking for India”.
The BJP is using religion as a weapon to hide its shortcomings, Stalin said. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief blamed the BJP and its politics for the continuing ethnic violence in Manipur for four months and last month’s communal clashes in Haryana’s Nuh district. “The BJP is trying to damage the basic structure of India, and destroy the sense of unity that Indians have cherished and protected for so long,” he said, insisting that it was the INDIA bloc that was going to save India.
Stalin, who heads the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which is a part of the Opposition bloc, accused the BJP-led Union government of destroying the country’s social justice, secular politics, social harmony, state autonomy and federalism.
“If we want to prevent the whole of India from becoming Manipur and Haryana, which, unfortunately, fell victim to BJP’s communal politics and hate-inciting policies, the INDIA alliance must win,” Stalin said In his podcast titled “Speaking for India”, as he reminded people about the 2002 riots in Gujarat under the BJP’s watch.
“The purpose of this podcast series is that I… as someone who is one among you, want to speak for India,” he added.
“The BJP is trying to damage the basic structure of India, and destroy the sense of unity that Indians have cherished and protected for so long,” he added, insisting that it was the INDIA bloc that was going to save India.
“The Narendra Modi model, which came to power after lying about the Gujarat model, is now going to end with no significant model to call their own. It has become a rudderless model, and there are no tall claims about the once-famous Gujarat model either, especially after we listed the achievements of the Dravidian model in Tamil Nadu with statistical proof.”
The BJP, which formed the Union government in 2014 and again in 2019, has failed to deliver on its election promises such as recovering black money from the foreign countries and doubling farmers’ income, Stalin said. “It is soon going to be 10 years of the BJP governance, and none of those promises have been fulfilled,” the chief minister said.
Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai hit back at Stalin, saying that it was the chief minister and his son who were promoting religious hatred.
“Corrupt DMK is responsible for transforming TN into a lawless state,” Annamalai said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “While Thiru @mkstalin and his son are busy promoting religious hatred, the state continues to pay the price for electing this corrupt dynast,” he said, in a reference to Udhayanidhi Stalin’s statement on eradicating Sanatan Dharma (a set of duties and way of living as proscribed in the Hindu religion) to establish social justice and equality.
On Sunday, Union home minister Amit Shah reacted to Udhayanidhi Stalin’s statement in Rajasthan. “The Opposition alliance has been insulting Sanatana Dharma. Leaders of the DMK and Congress are talking about ending Sanatana Dharma just for vote- bank politics. This is not the first time they have insulted our Sanatana Dharma,” Shah said at a rally in poll-bound Rajasthan.
