Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), April 2 Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin on Thursday alleged that it was the AIADMK that copied his party's flagship schemes in its manifesto and claimed that the more the visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the more will be the victory margin of his alliance.
Addressing an election rally here, the ruling Dravidian party chief alleged Palaniswami had no achievements to list out and he did not implement anything mentioned in the 2016 election manifesto either. While this was the actual status, Palaniswami had the audacity to claim that DMK simply copied the AIADMK's election manifesto.
Stalin alleged: "It is Palaniswami who has released a manifesto by copying our schemes, such as the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam (Women's Rights Scheme named after late DMK patriarch Karunanidhi, which provides beneficiaries Rs 1,000 per month) and the free 'Vidiyal Payanam' (dawn journey of fare-free travel in state-run buses), without missing a single one."
Palaniswami had nothing to list as achievements or schemes of the AIADMK rule, which was in power for 10 years. "This difficulty is even greater for his 'owner', Prime Minister Modi, than for Palaniswami. Modi too cannot name any special scheme implemented for Tamil Nadu."
Stalin ridiculed the Prime Minister, alleging he mostly lives abroad, and is now visiting Tamil Nadu frequently due to the election season. The CM said: "Even now, he is reportedly going to hold a roadshow in Chennai on April 4. Whether others are happy about this or not, we will be happy. DMK members are very thrilled. Do you ask why? This is exactly what happened during the last polls held in 2024 for the Lok Sabha. Then he had held a roadshow in Chennai, and we won all 40 Lok Sabha seats (39 in TN and one in Puducherry). I declare with confidence, if he comes, our target of 200 seats (out of 234 constituencies in TN) will surely be achieved. The more Modi and Amit Shah visit the state, the higher will be our victory margin, it will grow commensurately with their visit."
The CM said sarcastically that Governor RN Ravi (recently transferred to West Bengal), who had been DMK's election campaign "artillery," was suddenly removed and "at least these people (PM Modi and Shah) are "coming to help us and we are happy."
He alleged that Tamil Nadu opposes the BJP so strongly because the BJP betrays and insults Tamil, Tamilians, and Tamil Nadu.
Furthermore, Stalin alleged: "When they (BJP leaders) come to Tamil Nadu, they pretend to be even more filled with love for Tamil than us, don’t they? But what did Prime Minister Modi say during the Bihar elections? He falsely claimed, Tamilians continue to harass the people of Bihar in Tamil Nadu. Is this speech befitting the high office he holds? Now you are coming to seek votes in Tamil Nadu. I ask if he has the courage, will Prime Minister Modi repeat those words spoken in Bihar right here in Tamil Nadu?
Tamil Nadu goes to polls on April 23.
