Tamil Nadu has never been a happy hunting ground for the BJP, which secured less than 3.7 per cent of the votes in the 2019 election and less than three in the 2021 state poll.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has thrown down a list of dares to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, challenging him to guarantee, among other things, an inquiry into the electoral bonds row, recovery of areas “encroached by China”, and a caste census, if his Bharatiya Janata Party wins the election.
The Prime Minister has also been challenged to roll back notified amendments to the citizenship law and ensure immediate distribution of disaster relief funds, a burning topic that last week saw the state government take the centre to the Supreme Court for a ₹ 2,000 crore interim relief package.
Mr Stalin’s twist on the ‘Modi ki guarantee‘ tag – which the BJP uses frequently in election campaigns, including in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha poll – came in a lengthy post in Tamil on X, and as the PM attacked the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in his eighth visit to the state this year.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister also took a swipe at the Prime Minister’s many trips to the southern state – which has traditionally rejected the BJP’s brand of politics – comparing it to migratory birds.
“Just like birds come to a sanctuary during the season, Prime Minister hovers over Tamil Nadu during election season. Prime Minister, who has come with guarantee card… will you give these guarantees?”
Mr Stalin wasn’t the first to aim a “migratory bird” jibe at the Prime Minister. Last month Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress referred to him as such, one who surfaces just before an election.
“Otherwise, your ‘warranty’ is once again exposed as a ‘Made in BJP’ washing machine that smears corruption tainted with saffron!” the DMK boss thundered in his social media post.
The list of guarantees demanded included reservation for Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and Other Backward Classes) and assurances of employment for two crore young men and women every year.
“Just like birds come to a sanctuary during the season, Prime Minister hovers over Tamil Nadu during election season. Prime Minister, who has come with guarantee card… will you give these guarantees?”
Mr Stalin wasn’t the first to aim a “migratory bird” jibe at the Prime Minister. Last month Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress referred to him as such, one who surfaces just before an election.
“Otherwise, your ‘warranty’ is once again exposed as a ‘Made in BJP’ washing machine that smears corruption tainted with saffron!” the DMK boss thundered in his social media post.
The list of guarantees demanded included reservation for Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and Other Backward Classes) and assurances of employment for two crore young men and women every year.
The long list of ‘guarantee’ demands mirrored promises made by the DMK in its manifesto for this election. Released last month, the document says the Tamil party will repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act and, overall, review the BJP’s “anti-people laws”.
“The DMK continues to do what we say… this is what our leaders taught us. We went all over the state and listened to the people. This is not a DMK manifesto… it is the people’s manifesto,” Mr Stalin said.
Among the promises made were cutting petrol and diesel prices to ₹ 75 and ₹ 65 per litre, scrapping of the Uniform Civil Code, and 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and Assemblies.
PM Modi In Tamil Nadu
Earlier today the Prime Minister spoke at rallies in Mettupalayam and Vellore, at which he attacked the DMK and the Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc, of which it is a member.
The speeches included jabs at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and the Chief Minister’s son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, who was at the heart of the ‘Sanatana Dharma‘ controversy.
It also included a reference to the late former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa; her All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was an ally till a dramatic break-up last year.
Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha Election
Tamil Nadu votes in the first phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha election.
The results will be declared on June 4. In the 2019 election, the DMK-Congress alliance swept the state, winning 38 of its 39 seats. The DMK won 24, the Congress 10, and the AIADMK one. The BJP got zero.
Source: NDTV
