When will PM Modi speak about Chinese incursions into India, asks TNCC chief
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K. Selvaperunthagai on Sunday reacted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegation that the Congress had ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka by asking when he would speak about Chinese incursions into India and the breakdown of law and order in Manipur.
In a social media post, Mr. Selvaperunthagai said that Mr. Modi should speak about what happened in the leadup to the killing of 44 Indian security personnel in Pulwama.
“When will you speak about the complete breakdown and decay of law and order in Manipur? When will you speak about the Rafael papers that disappeared from the Defence Ministry,” he asked.
Separately, at a protest against the Income Tax Department’s actions to freeze the Congress’s bank accounts before the election, Mr. Selvaperunthagai said, “We speak about what the Congress has done for the people of India. Why can’t the BJP do the same? They say fishermen were killed under the Congress government but no fishermen were killed during the BJP’s tenure. I don’t understand how they can lie like this. Tamil fishermen are arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy and their boats are taken away, but the Indian government goes out of its way to help Gujarati fishermen when they face similar hurdles from the Pakistani Navy. Are you the Prime Minister only for Gujarati fishermen,” he asked, addressing Mr. Modi.
Meanwhile, Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) president G.K. Vasan alleged that the Katchatheevu island was ceded to Sri Lanka when Congress was in power at the Centre, and the green signal was given by the DMK in Tamil Nadu.
Addressing the media in Chennai after releasing his party’s election manifesto, Mr. Vasan said, “It has become a routine for the DMK to talk about Hindi when they know that people are going to vote against them. It is purely vote bank politics. They cannot cheat people by talking about Hindi…It was the Congress government at the Centre that ceded the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka. The green signal was given by the DMK. The BJP government has been taking steps to protect the rights of fishermen.”
Commenting on the Cauvery water dispute, Mr. Vasan said that the State government should go beyond coalition politics to protect the welfare of farmers. He alleged that the DMK government had not pressed for the rights of Tamil Nadu farmers at the meetings of the Cauvery Water Management Authority.
He said that the poll promises of his party focused on agriculture, education, health, employment generation, total prohibition and law and order. The party would firmly stand by the Central government if it introduces capital punishment for those who commit sexual offences against children, he said.