Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin hit out at the BJP and made a strong case for the DMK before the upcoming urban local body polls. In a video statement, he made an indirect comment about ‘communal polarisers’ and said that their blood pressure would shoot up by seeing what happens in Tamil Nadu.
“Those who do politics based on religion would be worried seeing TN, since they are trying everything to divide us but cannot do so. They are trying to defeat this government which is ruling based on social justice and equality (Dravidian principles),” Stalin said.
Citing examples, Stalin said that the ruling BJP did not disburse the Rs 16,722 crore in GST compensation to Tamil Nadu, and also did not pay Rs 8,000 crore of COVID-19 relief funds which they had earlier promised.
“In this year's Union budget there is no mention of relief for those who suffered from corona but they have reduced the taxes on diamonds. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” he said.
In a video statement, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin says for those people who are trying to play politics using religion, their BP must be shooting up looking at how people of the state are standing united in the face of their attempts to divide. #UrbanLocalBodyElection #DMK pic.twitter.com/1YnfLkEGj9
— Shilpa (@Shilpa1308) February 16, 2022
He also highlighted NEET, a raging political issue in Tamil Nadu in which the state finds itself in the crosshairs with the Governor. “With NEET, only those children with access to coaching classes and resources can crack the exam. The state even passed a bill banning NEET but the Governor sent it back to us. But unlike the previous (AIADMK) government, we will fight these injustices,” he added.
In his talk, the CM added that in eight months, his government has “shattered the notion that DMK is against Hindus,” which, he says, was a lie which propagated for years together. He claimed that during the time of the DMK, 180 acres of encroached temple land across the state — worth Rs 1,789 crore — has been “successfully retrieved”, and said that the government was allotting Rs 1,000 crore for temple renovation in the state.
The Chief Minister’s statement comes amid the ABVP and BJP’s protests in Tamil Nadu over the alleged conversion case of Lavanya, a student from Thanjavur. On Tuesday, February 15, the Chief Minister’s office was picketed by protesting Hindu groups.
Concluding his message, he appealed to voters in Tamil Nadu to vote for the DMK in the upcoming elections.