Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his repeated call for a “double engine” government. Stalin said such a “dappa” (metal box) model has no place in the state.
Reacting to Modi’s remarks at an NDA rally in Maduranthakam, near Chennai, Stalin asked Modi to ponder how states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, and West Bengal, where the “double engine has not entered”, have been registering growth.
Also read| 'Deepam' in TN, Sabarimala in Kerala: PM Modi's southward poll push focuses on temple rows
‘Growth Without a double engine’
The Prime Minister, while inaugurating the NDA’s assembly election campaign in Tamil Nadu, had urged voters to choose a state government that works “shoulder to shoulder” with the Centre.
This state-Centre sync is referred to by BJP leaders as “double engine”. Stalin mocked it as a “dappa” (Tamil for tin-box or bogey) model.
PM Modi said the state must be “freed from the clutches of the DMK” and called for a “double engine” government to drive development.
{{/usCountry}}PM Modi said the state must be “freed from the clutches of the DMK” and called for a “double engine” government to drive development.
{{/usCountry}}Responding on social media platform X, Stalin dismissed the argument outright.
“The double engine that the PM talks about will not run in Tamil Nadu... Tamil Nadu has achieved historical growth by overcoming all the obstacles created by the BJP government at the Centre,” he said.
Also read| Udhayanidhi Stalin's Sanatana Dharma remarks amount to 'hate speech': Madras HC
The CM also asked Modi to compare growth patterns across states.
“Think about it for a moment… more than the ‘double engine’ states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar that you talk about, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, and West Bengal, where the ‘double engine’ has not entered, are registering growth,” Stalin said.
Stalin further accused the BJP of repeatedly acting against the interests of Tamil Nadu. Even if the Prime Minister attempts to conceal what he called the party’s “betrayals”, the people of the state would not forget them, he said.
“Tamil Nadu will not bow to Delhi’s arrogance,” Stalin added, underlining his party’s resistance to what it sees as undue central pressure ahead of the polls.