CHENNAI: BJP state president K Annamalai on Wednesday said the decision of Chief Minister MK Stalin to boycott the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting, on the basis that the Union Budget did not mention Tamil Nadu by name, is quite theatrical.

Criticising CM Stalin, Annamalai said, “Tamil Nadu CM is trying to mislead the people into believing that only the states mentioned in the Budget speech will receive benefits, ignoring that the previous Congress-DMK UPA government failed to include Tamil Nadu in 6 budget speeches between 2004 and 2014.”

Is CM Stalin implying that no schemes were provided for Tamil Nadu during those years? Annamalai questioned. He also questioned whether CM Stalin was unaware that between 2014 and 2024, under the BJP government, TN received 10 times more through budget announcements than in years under the UPA government.

“What is the TN CM hoping to achieve by choosing to boycott the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting aimed at addressing state needs?” Annamalai asked in a social media post.

“It is a fact that DMK MPs, elected to speak for their constituencies in Parliament over the past 5 years, have failed to address any constituency-related issues,” he noted.

Further, the former IPS officer turned politician urged CM Stalin to give up such empty theatrics aimed at self-promotion and instead pursue constructive politics for the development of Tamil Nadu.

‘CM Stalin’s decision betrayal of TN’

Meanwhile, TN BJP spokesperson ANS Prasad said, “CM Stalin’s move is a drama to show his loyalty to the Congress and to portray the Modi government is against TN. Despite the Centre’s willingness to allocate sufficient funds for TN, the DMK government’s decision is a betrayal to Tamil Nadu,” Prasad said in a statement, alluding to CM’s boycott.