Ex-haryana Cong chief launches new party
PM calls CONG-DMK meetings ‘corruption hackathons’ in TN; accuses Cong of adopting ‘divide, lie and rule’ policy
NEW DELHI: Former Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar launched a new political party, Apna Bharat Morcha, in Delhi on Thursday. “The Apna Bharat Morcha... will work with a three-pillared approach of dialogue, debate and discussion...,” said Tanwar during the event.
CHENNAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Dmk)-congress alliance while launching the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’S campaign for the upcoming assembly elections in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.
Addressing a rally in Coimbatore, Modi launched a slew of infrastructure projects ahead of the elections due in April-may.
The Prime Minister began his speech with the BJP’S popular slogan in the state — ‘Vetrivel Veeravel’ (victorious spear, courageous spear) — referring to the party’s ‘vetrivel yatra’ (victorious spear march) launched in November 2020 in support of the devotees of local deity Lord Muruga.
On Thursday, the DMK and Congress began their first round of meetings for the Tamil Nadu assembly polls. Taking a swipe at the alliance, Modi said their seatsharing talks were like “corruption hackathons”. “Their leaders sit and brainstorm how to loot,” he said.
The BJP, which has no MLA or MP in Tamil Nadu, will contest the elections in alliance with the
AIADMK, which has a strong hold in the state’s western region, comprising Coimbatore. Modi said the way the National Democratic Alliance (Nda)-led Centre worked with the AIADMK in the state was a “classic example of cooperative federalism.”
Continuing his tirade against the main Opposition party in the state, Modi said the DMK was “promoting a strongman culture” with “anti-social elements” in every district. “Who suffers most in such a culture? Women,” he said.
“Entire Tamil Nadu knows how
the DMK treated ‘Amma’ Jayalalithaaji. Leaders who troubled Jayalalithaaji were rewarded by the Congress and the DMK,” he said, referring to a 1989 incident when Jayalalithaa, who was then the leader of opposition, was allegedly assaulted in the assembly.
Recalling the power-cuts during the DMK’S regime, Modi said the Dravidian party has “lost the right to be called an all-tamil Nadu party”. “Last time they won a majority on their own in the state was 25 years ago...”
Meanwhile, days after the Congress-led government failed to
prove its majority in Puducherry and blamed the BJP for toppling it, Modi hit back at former chief minister V Narayanasamy. “He was more interested in lifting the slippers of his leader than lifting people out of poverty,” he said, adding, “People of Puducherry are experiencing freedom from the Congress government.”
On Congress’s charges that the Centre colluded with former Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi to create obstacles, Modi said it was the Congress that “did not cooperate and use utilise central funds.”
Modi also brought up a viral video clip showing Narayanasamy purportedly wrongly translating a woman’s complaint against the CM into a complement to Rahul Gandhi last week. “He lied to the people and his own leader. Can a party whose culture is based on lies ever serve people?” he asked. “The colonial rulers adopted the policy of divide and rule. The Congress’s policy is divide, lie and rule. They are gold, silver and bronze medal winners in telling lies,” Modi said.
Reacting to Gandhi’s recent remarks of why there was no fisheries ministry in Delhi, Modi said: “The current NDA government made fisheries ministry in 2019 and the budget allocated for fisheries has grown more than 80% in the last two years.”
Gandhi hit back in a tweet, “Dear Pm...fisherfolk need an independent and dedicated ministry of fisheries, not just a department within a ministry.”
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram termed Modi’s charges “campaign rhetoric”. “This is a litany of comments about the alliance partners. The government and the PM will be well advised to focus their attention on the plummeting economy. He’s treated himself for scoring a century in the fuel prices by naming a (cricket) stadium after himself.”