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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin on Friday, January 23, dismissed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a “double-engine” government in the state, calling it a “dabba engine” (waste engine) that would never work in Tamil Nadu.
Reacting to PM Modi’s speech in Mathuranthankam, in which the Prime Minister said Tamil Nadu needed a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Union and a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the state for faster development, Stalin said the state had achieved historic growth despite what he described as hurdles imposed by the BJP-led Union government.
He said, “Tamil Nadu has overcome all obstacles placed by the Union government and emerged as a leading state without the so-called double-engine model.”
“States without the NDA’s double-engine rule, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, and West Bengal, are performing better than NDA-ruled states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar,” he added.
CM Stalin also warned that even if Prime Minister Modi attempted to conceal the Union government’s “betrayals” of Tamil Nadu, the people would not forget them.
Earlier in the day, Stalin accused the BJP of repeatedly betraying Tamil Nadu and raised a series of pointed questions over the Centre’s policies and actions in the state.
Responding to Stalin, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami alleged that it was the DMK government itself that was running a “faulty engine.”
“After ruling a faulty engine regime, it is absurd that this puppet Chief Minister is criticizing our alliance, which is committed to Tamil Nadu’s development,” he said.
Palaniswami also claimed that the state government had failed to submit the proper documents to secure approvals for Metro Rail projects in Madurai and Coimbatore.
In his speech, Prime Minister Modi also spoke about the Thiruparankundram hill controversy and accused the DMK government of defaming the judiciary to appease its vote bank and called the party “the biggest enemy of Tamil culture.”