CHENNAI: Senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan on Monday claimed that criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had repeatedly benefited the BJP electorally, as the party staged a protest in the city against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's remarks about the Prime Minister's late father.

The demonstration at Rajarathinam Stadium in Egmore was part of the BJP's nationwide protests over Kharge's remarks at an event in Patna on Sunday. BJP state vice-presidents VP Duraisamy and Dolphin Sridharan participated along with party workers.

"Whenever Prime Minister Modi is criticised, the BJP continues to win," Tamilisai told reporters, accusing Kharge of making derogatory remarks and subsequently attempting to explain them away amid the backlash.

Defending RSS March, she asserted that its century-old ideology could not be destroyed. On the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, she accused opposition parties of selectively opposing the exercise after electoral defeats, insisting that the BJP's victories were driven by sustained organisational work rather than the revision process.

Claiming that Modi had enhanced India's standing internationally, the former state president accused the Congress leadership of amplifying foreign voices in the country. She also criticised Rahul Gandhi's interaction with students in Chennai, alleging that Congress leaders appeared disinterested and that students had not been provided adequate facilities.

Commenting on the arrest of former School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Tamilisai said, "Whoever commits wrongdoing will be punished. If they have done nothing wrong, let them prove their innocence in court and come out."

She also accused the DMK of neglecting schoolchildren while opposing the National Education Policy and the three-language formula.