'Committed to ensuring Tamil refugees in Sri Lanka live with dignity': Rajnath in Chennai; calls for DMK-mukt TN

Appealing to the Tamil Nadu Voters to give an opportunity to the BJP, BJP veteran and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the saffron party was all for the empowerment of Tamil Refugees in Sri Lanka.

Chennai:Striking the Lankan Tamil chord, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Tuesday appealed to the electorate in Tamil Nadu to give the BJP a shot at power in the southern state. Promising "peace, equality, and dignity" for Tamil refugees in Sri Lanka, Singh said that PM Modi has "continuously tried" for their empowerment.

Addressing a public meeting in Chennai, Singh said that BJP cannot forget when former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government was formed for the first time, it was Tamil Nadu's daughter, 'Puratchi Thalvi', Jaya Amma who supported him. "Like Atalji, Modiji also has a personal relationship with Tamil Nadu. Its reflection is visible in his work. He has continuously tried the empowerment of Tamil Refugees in Sri Lanka," he said.

"When Modiji visited Sri Lanka after becoming the Prime Minister in 2015, he also visited the Jaffna area and became the first Prime Minister of India to do so. Gave houses to around 27000 Tamil Brothers and Sisters who were rendered homeless due to the civil war there," he added.

Singh went on to add that the Central government under the leadership of PM Modi is "committed to ensuring that Tamil Refugees in Sri Lanka live with peace, equality and dignity". "Lakhs of fishermen live in Tamil Nadu. Don't know how many fishermen were arrested by Sri Lanka during the Congress governments. For the first time, such a government has come, which is giving relief to the fishermen community for good diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka," he said, according to news agency ANI.

The defence minister also lambasted the government in the state terming DMK as an equivalence for corruption and accusing Chief Minister MK Stalin of playing a double game on this issue. Even as Singh was addressing the public meeting, Stalin speaking at the inauguration of 'Kalaignar Kottam', the grand memorial for his father and DMK patriarch Karunanidhi at Tiruvarur, warned that allowing the BJP another term at the Centre would be detrimental for Tamil Nadu. Singh is among the top leaders of the BJP to land in Tamil Nadu, after BJP national president JP Nadda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who urged the voters to propel the party to govern the Dravidian heartland.

Aware of the fact that the BJP is yet to secure more than a 3 per cent vote share, all the leaders have desisted from antagonising the dominant ally, AIADMK, by asserting that both parties are together. Singh too played the same tune but placed the BJP as the principal one in the battle for Fort St George, the seat of power in the state.

Launching a broadside against the DMK, Singh, addressing the gathering said, “The entire country is aware of the DMK's corruption. In the arrest of Minister Senthil Balalji for corruption, Stalin is playing a double game. See, his name itself is Stalin, the dictator of Soviet Russia. BJP functionaries are arrested for posting tweets. Give us an opportunity, the BJP will give an administration free of corruption.”

While he batted for a DMK-mukt Tamil Nadu and placed the BJP ahead of the AIADMK as the principal party capable of dethroning the ruling DMK, he was careful enough not to offend the Dravidian ally. “We are prepared to give due respect to the AIADMK, our alliance partner. We observe coalition dharma and accord them respect,” he said in an attempt at mollifying the AIADMK following the war of words between the two over BJP state president K Annamalai's veiled criticism of AIADMK icon late Jayalalithaa for being convicted for corruption.

This comes in the backdrop of Amit Shah, during his recent visit, exhorting the party functionaries to strive for winning 25 seats and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), stating that the party was working for securing all the 39 LS seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone seat in neighbouring Puducherry. The latter's assertion indicated the chasm between the two allies and the probability of the only major ally in the NDA charting a separate course ahead of the LS poll in 2024.

Stalin addressing the inauguration of 'Kalaignar Kottam', at Tiruvarur more than 300 km away and accompanied by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav, warned of the BJP retaining power at the Centre for another term, saying “If we fail to put an end to the BJP rule at the Centre, Tami Nadu as a State itself might vanish.

"Allowing the saffron party to continue in office will prove detrimental to Tamil Nadu, the Tamil race and our identity and the nation as a whole. As such, it is necessary to end the fascist rule of the BJP. For securing such a victory, the unity of the opposition parties is a prerequisite. We have the required strength and like Tamil Nadu opposition parties should come together. Needless to say that such unity is necessary.”

Heaping praises on Bihar, the Chief Minister said, “It is a state which has a history of saving democracy from the forefront. Even now, it has acknowledged the task of protecting democracy which is in danger. It has laid a foundation for that and I am participating in the June 23 conclave of opposition parties being held in Patna. It is a coming together of democratic forces.”

Reacting to Singh, DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said, “The BJP is yet to recover from the disastrous defeat in Karnataka and is still licking the wounds suffered there. It is laughable that the party which lost because of 40% corruption in the neighbouring state is talking about corruption.” Is the BJP punching above its weight by attempting to outsmart its ally and whether the DMK is struggling to retain its hold will be an interesting one to watch for in the 2024 LS polls. But, more BJP central leaders will land as the elections come closer.