Leaders trade barbs as poll battle heats up in south states
KARAIKKAL/TUTICORIN/VILLU
PURAM: Union home minister Amit Shah took potshots at the Congress, saying merit had no place in the party, while senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said disparity in wealth distribution had grown stronger in BJP rule as the two leaders on Sunday addressed separate events in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, which are headed to assembly polls in the coming weeks.
Lambasting the erstwhile Congress government in Puducherry, senior BJP leader Shah alleged that V Narayanasamy, who headed it, gave “cut money” to the “Gandhi family” from ₹ 15,000 crore Central funds.
Merit had no place in Congress and Narayanasamy was made chief minister in 2016 though the party fought the polls then under A Namassivayam, now in BJP, for the former’s ‘servitude,’ Shah said.
Addressing an election rally in the Union territory, Shah claimed that the Congress government, which collapsed earlier this month after losing majority, indulged in “petty politics” over Central schemes meant for Puducherry.
In Tuticorin, Rahul Gandhi said disparity in wealth distribution has become much stronger during the BJP rule at the Centre.
On the second day of his tour of southern Tamil Nadu for poll campaign, the top Congress leader interacted with salt pan workers and said he empathised with them when they narrated their travails, including health issues.
“When we were in government in the UPA we noticed that the wealth distribution in India was becoming very skewed,” he said. While a few people were getting “very very rich,” many
were poor, he said.
“And now since the BJP has come (to power at the Centre) that has become much, much stronger,” he alleged.
In Tamil Nadu, Shah launched a broadside against the Congress and the DMK over dynasty politics, saying the respective parties were only worried about their first families and pitched his BJP- led NDA as pro-development which would ensure growth.
While Congress President Sonia Gandhi was ‘ worried’ about making her son Rahul the Prime Minister, DMK chief MK Stalin was worried about making his son Udhayanidhi the state chief Minister, he said.
Addressing a Vijay Sankalp election rally at Villupuram, Shah asked people to choose between the “sons and daughters of kings and emperors”.
In Puducherry’s Karaikkal, Shah also brought up Rahul Gandhi’s recent remark that there was no dedicated ministry to deal with the issues of fishermen and said the Congress leader was on vacation when the NDA formed the ministry of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying in 2019.
“Some days ago, Rahul Gandhi had asked why there is no fisheries department. I want to know from people whether they want a leader who doesn’t know that department of fisheries has been in existence for two years,” Shah said at the public rally.
In Tuticorin, Rahul Gandhi said the idea the party had to handle the problem of protecting the interests of workers for the period they did not have work was the “concept of a minimum income,” the Nyay scheme for every single poor family in the country.
When the Congress gets voted to power at the Centre, the Nyay plan would be implemented to address their concern of getting income for non-working period, he said.
Continuing with his attack on the Congress, Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave more than 115 schemes to Puducheery for its overall development, “but there was a government which wanted to do petty politics.”
Seeking a mandate for the BJP, he assured to make the small UT “the jewel of India and take it across the world,” if voted to power in the April 6 polls.
Shah also charged Narayanasamy with focussing more on serving the “Gandhi family” in Delhi and giving “cut money”.
Over the years, the Centre had granted around ₹15,000 crore funds to Puducherry, Shah said and asked if the money had reached the people in the villages here, to which the audience responded in the negative.
“So where did the ₹15,000 crore given by Narendra Modi go? Narayanasamy made cut money out of it and sent it in service of the Gandhi family in Delhi,” Shah alleged.
In Tuticorin, when Rahul Gandhi posed questions on health issues they faced due to years of hard work in salt pans, the workers pointed out that they had to endure eye related ailments and wounds in the feet. Gandhi said he empathised with them, adding he learnt quite a lot by having a dialogue with them. Also, he requested the workers to explain to him the process of salt making during his next visit.
In Tamil Nadu, Shah said the AIADMK- BJP coalition will work on the philosophy of the late CMs MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, besides that of his party, Shah said. Hailing Ramachandran as the true “makkal thilagam,” (people’s leader) Shah said he was reminded of the stalwart when he saw Modi working for the Dalits, backward and oppressed today.