VIRUDHUNAGAR: Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Saturday claimed the 'Dravidian model single engine' government achieved double-digit economic growth of 11.19 per cent whereas the double engine governments in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh could not achieve even 6 per cent growth.
Flaying Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “double engine government” remark, Udhayanidhi said the double engine governments in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were nowhere near Tamil Nadu’s spectacular performance.
“Modi sir, the Dravidian model single-engine government has achieved a double-digit economic growth of 11.91 per cent. But your double-engine governments in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are not able to achieve even 6 per cent growth - not even half of our achievement," he said, addressing DMK youth wing southern zone rally here.
Udhayanidhi, who is DMK youth wing secretary, said whenever the Prime Minister visited Tamil Nadu, he quoted couplets from the Thirukkural and meditated on the mid-sea (on Vivekananda Rock Memorial, off the coast of Kanyakumari).
On his recent visit, Modi spoke of the double engine government, which, as the Chief Minister M K Stalin had said, was a "dabba engine", not required for the state, Udhayanidhi said.
“During every election, some people open their shops just like shops that mushroom during festival occasions. Once the polls are over, they disappear like the shops that vanish once the festivals conclude,” Udhayanidhi said.
The BJP made promises just like some people trick children with a promise of sweet or ice-cream and made the AIADMK their "slaves," he alleged and added that Tamil Nadu will "always be out of Delhi’s control".
He slammed AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, allegedly for saying the "sun has set" in a veiled reference to the DMK’s rising sun symbol.
"Palaniswami can walk straight if he looks ahead. But if he sees Modi or Amit Shah’s feet and walks, he will only end up in a blind street," he remarked.
From functioning as a branch of the BJP, the AIADMK has now transformed into the BJP’s leaves, Udhayanidhi sarcastically commented indirectly, referring to the Two Leaves symbol of the AIADMK.
He said the BJP was “annoyed and incensed” at the growing popularity of the DMK under Stalin.
Without naming anyone, he said some groups that lacked goals or principles went around making noises.