Modi attacks opposition on corruption, misgovernance in TN, Kerala, Telangana

Modi expressed confidence that the BJP will perform well in the three southern states and said the party will return to power with a “record” number of seats for the 3rd time

Chennai/Kochi/Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu, the Congress and the Left parties in Kerala and Congress and Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) in Telangana of corruption, misgovernance and harbouring anti-national sentiment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that the BJP will perform well in the three southern states (X/narendramodi)

Modi expressed confidence that the BJP will perform well in the three southern states and said the the party will return to power with a “record” number of seats for the third time.

Modi was on a whirlwind tour of three southern states as part of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Lok Sabha 2024 campaign, a day before the election commission is set to announce the schedule for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Unlike in his previous visits to these states, the PM did not inaugurate developmental projects and participated only in political rallies.

In Tamil Nadu, Modi called the Dravidian party an ‘enemy’ of the state’s future, accusing it of harbouring hatred towards the country, its culture and heritage. He lashed out at the opposition INDIA bloc and said all it could show were “scams” running to several crores and said the BJP-led NDA had public initiatives as achievements to boast of.

“The history of the DMK and Congress is loot. They want to come to power to loot the people. On one side is the BJP’s welfare schemes, on the other (in the INDIA bloc) is the scams of crores of rupees. We gave optical fibre, 5G and other digital initiatives; INDIA alliance has 2G scam,” he said.

He termed DMK as the “biggest beneficiary” of the 2G scam, in which party leader and former telecom minister A Raja was implicated but later acquitted by a Delhi court. “The list (of scams) is big. This is the reality of INDIA alliance,” Modi said. He termed the DMK and Congress of being anti-women, recalling how DMK treated late chief minister J Jayalalithaa and added that such a culture continued even today and that crimes against women were on the rise in the state.

Modi said the ruling DMK “tried to ban the watching” of the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in January this year, apparently referring to some public screenings in Tamil Nadu and added the Supreme Court later pulled up the state government over the matter. “Imagine the hatred they have for our country, its culture, heritage and great men,” he said.

Referring to the installation of the “sacred Sengol” (Sceptre) in the new Parliament building, Modi said it was done in lines with the Tamil heritage but the DMK boycotted that as they did not like that as well. He further slammed the Congress and the DMK for their ‘silence’ when the bull taming sport ‘jallikattu’ was banned earlier and claimed the NDA allowed the sport, which is part of Tamil Nadu’s identity. He added that the BJP will “shatter” the DMK-Congress alliance in the state.

In Kerala, the PM, while addressing NDA workers in Pathanamthitta, said that the Left and the Congress governments in the state have given the state several scams such as the solar scam and gold smuggling one, and said the lotus (BJP’s election symbol) will bloom in the state.

“In the last elections, the people of Kerala made us the double-digit vote percentage party. And now, our destiny of double-digit seats here is not so far,” he said, reaching out to Christian community by recalling his meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

He also attacked the CPI(M)-led ruling LDF and the Congress-led UDF opposition in the state, alleging that the people of Kerala were suffering from consecutive corrupt and incompetent governments of these two fronts. He raked up the gold smuggling scam, allegedly carried out through diplomatic channels under LDF rule, and the solar panel scam under the previous UDF rule.

The PM also contended that the thinking and ideology of both the LDF and the UDF were dated and in sharp contrast to the progressiveness and forward-thinking people of Kerala. He also said that both the LDF and UDF governments had turned a blind eye to the struggles of rubber planters.

“Additionally, the state’s law and order situation has significantly deteriorated,” he claimed and alleged that colleges in Kerala have become the dens of “communist goondas”.

Modi urged the people of Kerala to give him their blessing and guaranteed that there will not be any lapses from his end in fulfilling their desires.

“We are going to witness a grand festival of democracy soon. I have a firm belief that this time Kerala’s love for the BJP will translate into a huge support. I have a firm belief that this time all previous records will be broken. I have a firm belief that this time our Kerala will break the vicious cycle of LDF and UDF,” the PM siad.

At the public meeting, NDA’s Lok Sabha candidates V Muraleedharan (Attingal), Anil K Antony (Pathanamthitta), Sobha Surendran (Alappuzha), and Baiju Kalasala (Mavelikkara), among other leaders, were present. In addition to them, Padmaja Venugopal, who recently joined the BJP after quitting the Congress, was also present on the stage.

In Telangana, Modi held a roadshow in Malkajgiri Lok Sabha assembly with senior party leaders. Wearing a saffron coloured cap, Modi stood in an open-top vehicle and waved to the people who stood on both sides of the road, greeting him. Modi was flanked by union minister and state BJP president G Kishan Reddy and the party’s candidate from Malkajgiri Eatala Rajender. He is scheduled to address rallies in Telangana on March 16 and March 18.