Stalin’s ‘Modiji assurance’ twisted for PM, BJP courts Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin (file photo).

chennai:

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin has posed a series of challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to ensure an inquiry into the electoral bonds dispute, take back areas “encroached by China” and conduct a caste census. If his BJP wins the election.

The Prime Minister also faces the challenge of withdrawing the notified amendments to the Citizenship Act and ensuring immediate distribution of relief funds, a hot topic raised by the state government in the Supreme Court last week, seeking an interim relief package of Rs 2,000 crore.

Mr. Stalin said:Modi arrive ensureThe hashtag – which the BJP has frequently used during its election campaign, including ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls – published a lengthy article in Tamil on X, while the prime minister, on his eighth visit to India, attacked The state of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazagam this year.

The Tamil Nadu chief minister also hit out at the prime minister’s multiple visits to the southern state, which has traditionally rejected the BJP’s brand of politics, likening it to a migratory bird.

Just like birds come to their refuge during the season, Prime Minister Modi himself is flying over Tamil Nadu during the election season…

Gujarat model – Chaukidar character revealed as fake, comes with guarantee card #Elections2024Prime Minister Modi comes to…

Here are those guarantees…

— MKStalin (@mkstalin) April 10, 2024

“Like birds that come to their sanctuary during the season, the Prime Minister hovers over Tamil Nadu during the election season. Prime Minister, you have come with an assurance card…will you give these assurances?”

Mr Stalin is not the first to make the “migratory bird” jibe at the prime minister. Last month, Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress called him so, and he emerged on the eve of the elections.

“Otherwise, your ‘warranty’ will once again be exposed as a ‘BJP-made’ washing machine, smeared with saffron for corruption!” the DMK boss thundered in his social media post.

The list of demanded safeguards includes reservation for Scheduled Castes and Tribes and other backward classes, and guaranteed employment for two crore young men and women every year.

Read | Congress manifesto focuses on jobs, promises caste census

The Congress in its manifesto also mentioned reservations for marginalized groups – beyond the Supreme Court’s 50 per cent limit – which the Prime Minister termed “the mark of the Muslim League”.

Stalin also asked the Prime Minister to vow to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET (National Eligibility Entrance Test) for all-India medical courses. Tamil Nadu has been highly critical of the exam. In February last year, it moved the Supreme Court claiming that the single-window common examination violated federal principles as it deprived states of their decision-making capacity in education.

The chief minister also wants Modi to reduce petrol, diesel and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) prices, implement Swaminathan Committee recommendations on minimum support price (MSP) for farmers and cancel the Army’s Agnipath scheme.

Read | Central and southern states battle over ‘unfair distribution’ of funds

The long list of “guarantee” demands reflects the promises made by the DMK in its manifesto for this election. Documents released last month said the Tamil Party would repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act and review the BJP’s “anti-people laws” in general.

Read | ‘One nation, one election’, CAA in DMK’s manifesto for Lok Sabha polls

“DMK continues to do what we say…this is what our leaders have taught us. We have gone around the state and listened to the people. This is not a DMK manifesto…this is a people’s manifesto,” Mr Stalin said . explain.

The promises made include cutting petrol and diesel prices to Rs 75 and Rs 65 per liter, repealing the Uniform Civil Code and reserving 33 per cent seats for women in Parliament and Parliament.

PM Modi visits Tamil Nadu

Earlier today, the Prime Minister addressed rallies in Mettupalayam and Vellore, where he attacked the DMK and Congress-led Indian opposition group of which he is a member.

The speeches included blistering attacks on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and the chief minister’s son Udayanidhi Stalin.Sanatan Dharma‘ controversy.

Read | PM’s ‘Remember Jayalalithaa’ DMK Jab in Tamil Nadu singles match

It also mentioned late former chief minister J Jayalalithaa; her All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagam who had been her ally , until their dramatic breakup last year.

Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha elections

Tamil Nadu goes to polls in the first phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections.

Results will be announced on June 4. In the 2019 elections, the DMK-Congress alliance swept the state, winning 38 out of 39 seats. DMK won 24, Congress won 10 and AIADMK won one. The BJP scored zero points.

Inputs from PTI

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