Poll fear behind Modi’s drama of fuel price cut, says Stalin

COIMBATORE: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday launched a scathing attack on the BJP, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi is enacting a drama of reducing prices of LPG cylinders and fuel, after increasing them multiple times in the past, over his fear of defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing a public meeting in Dharmapuri, seeking votes for DMK candidate A Mani and Congress candidate K Gopinath fielded in Krishnagiri, Stalin slammed the BJP government for increasing the wages of rural employment guarantee scheme despite the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in place.

“It’s just an eyewash. Why such consideration after curtailing this scheme brought by the Congress?” he asked. Attacking PMK for making an opportunistic alliance with the BJP that ‘buries’ social justice, Stalin sought to know the mystery behind PMK allying with the BJP, which he said goes against its basic tenets.

“The PMK in its election manifesto has promised a caste census along with a population census. Has the Prime Minister accepted this demand of the PMK? Did either Modi or Amit Shah give a guarantee on carrying out a caste census” he asked.

Further, Stalin said Congress is the only national party to have accepted the demand by DMK to conduct a caste census. “The union government has the authority to conduct a caste census as per norms, while a state government can only conduct a survey and not the census,” he said.

Listing out various schemes brought out by the DMK, Stalin said various other states are emulating the schemes introduced in Tamil Nadu. “Can the BJP list out any one such scheme brought for the welfare of people in Tamil Nadu in the last ten years? I have been asking the Prime Minister to speak out on the special schemes during his visits to Tamil Nadu. But, there is no response from him,” he said.

On the issue of poor tax returns from the Union government, Stalin said BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh get in double, while Tamil Nadu gets just Rs 29 paise for every rupee given as tax. “After speaking of state’s autonomy while being Gujarat Chief Minister, Modi is now trying to destroy states after becoming the Prime Minister. He behaves like a dictator,” he said.

Taking a dig at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who claimed to have desisted from contesting polls due to lack of money, Stalin asked, “Has the party (BJP) denied her money from 12,000 electoral bonds received by BJP?”

“The AIADMK has formed a secret pact with BJP after supporting all schemes brought by BJP including NEET, anti-farm laws, and CAA just to hold on to power. But now they claim they are there to save Tamil Nadu from BJP,” said Stalin.