Thirumangalam/Virdhunagar (Tamil Nadu), April 5 Launching a scathing attack on the BJP-led Centre, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday accused the BJP of harboring "hatred" toward the state by "consistently depriving" it of its fair share of tax revenue.
"After taking our money, you ask us where the money is going; is this fair? It is like pinching the baby and rocking the cradle," Stalin said during a campaign rally at Thirumangalam near Madurai.
While campaigning in Tamil Nadu on April 4, Union Minister Piyush Goyal sounded an alarm bell that "Tamil Nadu is going to go bankrupt", if the DMK continued to rule.
However, Stalin asserted that if Tamil Nadu received funding parity with northern states, its debt would be cleared immediately.
He challenged Goyal to publicly disclose the return-on-investment for every rupee Tamil Nadu contributes to the Union compared to BJP-ruled northern states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Dismissing Goyal’s claims that the state was heading toward bankruptcy as a "lack of understanding," Stalin said that government funds go directly to the people through various welfare schemes.
He further contrasted his "Dravidian Model" of religious harmony against the NDA’s "Aryan Model", which he claimed seeks to divide people and turn "Madurai into Manipur".
Earlier in the day, speaking in Virudhunagar, CM Stalin called the DMK's election manifesto the "superstar of the 2026 polls".
He said, "From age six to 60, from women to men, from youth to the elderly -- everyone likes the DMK election manifesto. There cannot be anyone who dislikes it."
"I introduced this as the superstar of the 2026 electoral field," Stalin told the crowd here, noting that its appeal spans all demographics.
He emphasised that the credibility of a promise depends on who makes it and said, "Whoever wants to can make a promise. But people only believe the promise given by the DMK. Whatever others say, there is no value to it."
Stalin, who is also DMK president, detailed several "superstar" highlights, most notably the 'Illatharasi' (Homemaker) scheme.
The CM described this as an "ultimate announcement" involving a Rs 8,000 coupon for women to purchase household appliances.
"As far as I am concerned, the household workload of our family heads will be greatly reduced. That is the main objective of this scheme," he said, adding that women could choose anything from washing machines and fridges to micro-ovens at a store of their choice.
He also pledged to double the 'Maghalir Urimai Thogai' monthly assistance from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000.
Stalin also attacked the opposition, framing the upcoming election as a battle between the "Tamil Nadu Team" and the "Delhi Team".
He accused AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami of basing his campaign on "slander and low-level talk".
He labeled him a "liar" and a "symbol of betrayal".
"If you give a form to betrayal, it is Palaniswami," Stalin claimed, alleging how the former CM has betrayed everybody from his party -- from J Jayalalithaa to V K Sasikala and O Panneerselvam.
Stalin also countered Palaniswami's claims that the DMK had "cheated" government employees.
"If we had cheated them, would the government employee union administrators have come to meet me at the Fort to say thanks and feed me sweets?" he asked.
He alleged that Palaniswami is making such claims out of "unbearable frustration" over the DMK's successful implementation of welfare programmes.
Stalin warned that the BJP-led NDA’s primary goal is to "block the growth of Tamil Nadu" and urged the electorate to support the SPA candidates across the Virudhunagar, Sivakasi, and Aruppukkottai constituencies to ensure the continuation of the "Dravidian Model" of governance.
"We will provide a government in a way that we break our own records in the Dravidian Model 2.0 rule," he promised.
The Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu will be held on April 23.