Chennai: Lashing out at the ruling DMK, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday questioned how a minister arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a corruption case can continue in the cabinet. Without naming V Senthil Balaji, he said Chief Minister MK Stalin should be 'ashamed' for keeping the minister, now in jail following arrest, in the ministry without a portfolio.
“DMK government is the most corrupt in the country and in the world too. Can one in jail continue to be a minister? Shouldn't he have resigned from the ministry?”, Shah asked the audience and said, “Stalin will not accept his resignation. For, if the Chief Minister receives it, he will reveal all the secrets. That is why Stalin is rattled to accept the resignation.”
Painting the DMK as running a government steeped in corruption, he said “It is a government of the corrupt, government of the rate mafia and anti-poor. The TANGEDCO is bleeding due to corruption (Senthil Balaji was the Electricity Minister). Instead of implementing the poll promises, the DMK is indulging in corruption even in the purchase of medicines for the people.” Then he questioned whether the huge financial allocation to the state for welfare and development works has reached the people or swindled them.
“One tweet of Annamalai is causing an earthquake for your government. Think what will happen when he is on a yatra of 10,000 km,” the BJP stalwart quipped adding that the roadshow, besides retrieving Tamil pride and dignity will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi continuing in office for a third term in office and churning in Tamil Nadu's political domain.
Shah alleged that the opposition alliance, INDIA, was formed not in the national interest and development of the country, but for the development of the family-run parties for the promotion of their families. “Sonia Gandhi wants to make her son Rahul as Prime Minister, Stalin working for his son Udhayanidhi to succeed him as the Chief Minister, Lalu interested in making his son Tejaswi as Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee wants to make her nephew Abhishek Banerjee as the Chief Minister and in Maharashtra, Udhav Thackeray is focussed on making his son as Chief Minister. This alliance is neither for the development of Tamil Nadu or India. Instead to ensure dynastic succession.”
Further, he described the Congress and other constituents of the opposition alliance as corrupt and working against national integration. “When these parties go to the people for votes, the electorate will be reminded of the scams during the decade-long UPA rule. 2G spectrum scam, Commonwealth Games scam, ISRO scam. This alliance was opposed to abrogation of article 370 and opposed the surgical strikes carried out by the Modi government to crush cross-border terrorism.” “I ask the people of Tamil Nadu, whether Kashmir is ours or not? Congress and DMK opposed the scrapping of Article 370. Should the nation be freed of terrorism or not?” he asked.
Touching upon the emotional Sri Lankan Tamil issue, he charged the Congress-led UPA government, in which the DMK was a dominant constituent, responsible for the mass killings of Lankan Tamils in the 2009 civil war. “You are aware that the UPA is responsible for that and the plight of Tamil Nadu fishermen,” he said, adding that the Modi government was carrying out development projects for the Tamils in the island nation, including a Rs 120 crore cultural centre.
In continuing the BJP's attempt to endear itself to the Tamil people, Shah said from installing the 'sengol' from a Tamil Saivite Mutt in the new parliament house to spreading Tamil pride and its antiquity in the UN General Assembly and on other international fora, it was Modi who had made great contributions for the Tamil language.
