Modi visiting T.N. to make up for loss in North: Stalin
PM accuses Opposition of spreading lies about the scheme, which, he says, was brought to free elections of black money; says the ED had contributed significantly towards tackling corruption
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had been visiting the southern States, particularly Tamil Nadu, to make up for the loss awaiting them in the northern States that used to be their stronghold.
“The BJP government led by Mr. Modi is facing stiff opposition in the northern States that used to be its source of strength. That is why Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah seek to make up for it in the southern States. In the southern States, particularly Tamil Nadu, the ideology of the BJP is against the mindset of the people,” he told The Hindu.
He said the purpose of this election was to decide who should not come to power rather than who should come to power. “Mr. Modi was in the fray with the mask of ‘Gujarat model’ and ‘hero of development’. The mask has slipped and today he has been exposed as ‘corrupt
Modi’. People are angry because he has damaged the entire country for his selfish politics.”
He also asserted that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s one visit to the State is equivalent to 10 visits of Mr. Modi. “It is like the saying, Oru thadavai sonna nooru thadavai sonna maadhiri [saying it once is equivalent to saying it a 100 times],” he said, recalling the punchline from Rajinikanth’s film Baasha.
Noting that prime ministerial candidates were not projected in all elections in the history of Indian elections, Mr. Stalin said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in 2004 secured victory without projecting a prime ministerial candidate and Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister of the country.
“It is history that he ruled the country for 10 years. The history created in 2004 will be repeated after 20 years now,” he said.
Asked whether the BJP would be able to increase its vote share in Tamil Nadu in the Lok Sabha election, the Chief Minister said there was an attempt with the help of the media to construct a myth that the BJP was growing. “But the BJP can never take root in Tamil Nadu. The party does not have the intention to genuinely poll even 100 votes through good schemes for Tamil Nadu. Since it is in power, it receives the attention of the media. That’s all,” he said.
Mr. Stalin rejected the perception that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) may gain some traction in the election since it had snapped ties with the BJP and that its leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami had proved wrong the allegation that he and his party were slaves to the BJP. “The separate front led by the AIADMK is a oneact play that is being enacted with the blessings of the BJP’s leadership. He is not just a slave, he is a bonded labourer to the BJP. He is not ready to open his mouth against the BJP even after snapping ties with the party. It is more atrocious than his behaviour when he was part of the BJP alliance,” Mr. Stalin said.
He also did not agree with the argument that only a multicornered contest was working in favour of the DMK, saying that elections should only be judged based on the trend on the ground. “Has the rival camp discovered the reasons for their defeat even before the results are declared? Were these parties not part of the same front in the 2019 Lok Sabha election and 2021 Assembly election? Still they were defeated,” he pointed out.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the country had been pushed towards black money in elections after the Supreme Court scrapped the electoral bonds scheme, and that upon honest reflection, “everyone will regret it”.
In his first detailed take on the electoral bonds scheme after it was scrapped, Mr. Modi, in an interview to the news agency ANI, said that the scheme should also be viewed as a success story as it had shown who made contributions to political parties.
He said there was a lot of scope for improvement in the scheme. “There has been a discussion in our country for a long time that [through] black money a dangerous game is there in elections. I wanted that we try something, how can our elections be free from this black money, how can there be transparency? There was a pure thought in my mind. We were looking for a way. We found a small way, we never claimed that this was the absolute way,” he said.
“Whether what happened in the process was good or bad can be an issue of debate, I never say
that there is no shortcoming in decisionmaking. We learn after discussing and improve. There is a lot of scope of improvement in this also. But today we have completely pushed the country towards black money, hence I say everyone will regret it. When they will think honestly, everyone will regret it,” he said.
He took on the Opposition accusing it of spreading lies over electoral bonds, and said that of the 3,000 companies that gave donations through the scheme, 26 faced action by probe agencies such as Enforcement Directorate (ED). He said of these 26 companies, there were 16 that bought electoral bonds when they faced action. “Of these [16 companies] 37% of the amount went to the BJP and 63% to parties opposed to BJP,” he
said.
He also denied allegations by the Opposition that there was a lack of a level playing field, and said that laws regarding the institutions were formed before his tenure, and that the Opposition was only trying to find an excuse for their impending defeat.
Highlighting that only 3% of cases filed by the ED — which the Opposition said was being used by the Modi government to target them — were against persons involved in politics, Mr. Modi said a much higher amount of cash had been seized by the agency in the past 10 years than ever before.
“How many Opposition leaders are in jail? No one tells me. And is this the same Opposition leader... who used to run their government? There is fear of sin [paap ka dar hai]. What fear does an honest person have? They had put my Home Minister in jail when I was Chief Minister,” he said.
He lauded the ED and said that since he had taken charge at the Centre in 2014, the Central agency had significantly contributed in tackling corruption.
He said that corruption had destroyed the country and it has to be tackled with full might. “We should fight against corruption with our full strength. And this is my personal conviction,” he said.
With regard to the Election Commission, he said that it was in fact under his government that a law “improving” the process of appointing Election Commissioners by a threemember committee that included the Leader of the Opposition was cleared. “We at least have members from the Opposition in the committee. Earlier, those close to the ‘family’ were made Election Commissioners who later got Rajya Sabha seats and Ministries. We [BJP] can’t play at that level,” he said. Mr. Modi also questioned the “compulsion” of the Congress in allying with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu whose leaders had made objectionable remarks on Sanatana Dharma.