Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of visiting the state only during the poll season asking “is Tamil Nadu a bird sanctuary for him to visit the State only during the election season.”
DMK president M K Stalin while speaking at a public meeting in support of CPI(M)’s Lok Sabha candidate for Madurai on Tuesday further alleged Modi of using the central agencies to target the opposition-ruled states.
"Is Tamil Nadu a bird sanctuary for the Prime Minister to visit during election season? Why so much malice? Aren't Tamils citizens of this country?" Stalin asked.
"This is Modi's India," Stalin said, adding that the Centre is influencing even the non-BJP-ruled states across the country where the central agencies and even the Governors have created trouble to state governments.
He stated that DMK is not an antagonist of Hindus but has carried out numerous initiatives through the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department.
"I am asking for your votes with pride over the many achievements of the Dravidian model of governance in these three years," Stalin, who is the president of DMK, said.
Modi on Tuesday held a roadshow in Chennai, during his two-day visit to the state, as part of his Lok Sabha campaign in support of party candidates.
This was Modi’s seventh visit to Tamil Nadu this year (but first since the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls). Tamil Nadu will hold the voting in the first phase on April 19.
In the Chennai roadshow, Modi targeted Congress and DMK on Katchatheevu issue. He said surrendering the island to Sri Lanka shows the complicity of the two parties in harming the country's strategic interests.
Modi in his address said, “The recent public information on the Katchatheevu surrender points to how Congress and DMK were complicit in harming our strategic interests and the well-being of our fishermen and fisherwomen. No wonder this time, Chennai is all set to reject DMK and Congress.”
