Chennai: Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare and Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has slammed the BJP of attempting to carry out communal politics and claimed that people of the state will reject them.
Udhayanidhi, a star campaigner for the party in the 2021 Assembly Election, began his campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Ramanathapuram on Saturday. "The BJP is trying to do divisive communal politics, which will be rejected by the people of Tamil Nadu. Ramanathapuram stands for religious harmony. An example of this is our district secretary Katharbatcha Muthuramalingam. In this state, all people, irrespective of their religions, live together peacefully," the DMK leader asserted.
This is Udhayanidhi's first meeting for the election campaign titled 'Stalin’s voice to recover the rights', which commenced on February 16. He organised public meetings at 12 locations across the state on Saturday, sloganeering 'Down with fascism; victory for INDIA'.
Reiterating DMK's demand for exempting the state from NEET, he said that the party is committed to continue the struggle for this cause. He even praised J Jayalalithaa for not permitting to conduct the NEET in the state as long as she was alive. It was only after her death that the AIADMK government allowed the exam under pressure from Centre, he alleged.
Udhayanidhi said that the DMK government gave Rs 6,000 each to the flood-affected families whereas the Union government declined to provide even a single penny. Union government pays only 28 paisa for every rupee the state pays as tax, he added.
Citing the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, DMK leader alleged that the BJP caused a loss of Rs.7.5 lakh crore to the exchequer. "The CAG report said that the Centre spent Rs 125 crore for a kilometre of road in Dwaraka Express Way and 88,000 deceased were given health insurance," he said.
Listing down the achievements of the state government, he said, "Our CM has made bus travel free for women while 17 lakh children benefitted from the free morning meal programme in government schools. Puthumaipen Thittam gives fillip to women empowerment and women rights assistance of Rs 1000 is provided every month. You must keep these schemes in mind."
In view of the upcoming election, DMK has constituted a seat-sharing talks committee, election manifesto draft committee and election coordination committee. Party office bearers, ministers, MLAs and representatives of local bodies from all the 40 parliamentary constituencies were consulted separately.
Chief Minister MK Stalin has termed that the upcoming election would be the one to answer several questions on survival of democracy and the constitution in India.
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