Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin in his podcast ‘Speaking for India’ took a swing at the Bharatiya Janata Party and said that they have taken “religion as their weapon” to hide all their flaws.
“They are inciting the fire of religious sentiments of people and basking in the warmth of its fiery flames,” said Stalin. He began by accusing BJP of trying to hamper with India’s structure and destroy it’s sense of unity.
He said that the purpose of this podcast is that as the leader of the third largest party in the Indian Parliament, and as someone who is one among the nation’s citizens, he wants to speak for India.
Further taking a swing at BJP, Stalin said that the party has failed to fulfill its pre-election promises — including guaranteed employment to 2 crore people each year, double the income of farmers — especially people welfare schemes.
“It has become a rudderless model,” said Stalin as he emphasised that the ‘Narendra Modi Model’ is going to end with no significant model to call their own. He went on to say that the party is using its power to transfer public sector to their corporate allies.
DMK Has Always Been the Vanguard: Stalin
Taking a note of his party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), CM Stalin said, “Whenever India’s diversity, federalism, and democracy has been threatened, DMK has always been the vanguard, standing at the frontline.”
He quoted Perarignar Anna’s statement in the Council of States as, “You should take the DMK as the spearhead of the opposition to the unitary nature.” He said this was echoed by Kalaignar, who not only showed that DMK as a party from Tamil Nadu will always speak for India, adding that he also brought in structural and systemic changes to this order.
“Now, there is another duty of historical importance that has come our way,” said Stalin in reference to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Stalin said that the 2024 polls is about “who should not come to power” rather than who should come to power, wondering whether it will be the INDIA alliance that will save India.
Even as Stalin showed confidence in INDIA bloc, Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday hit out at the coalition over the remark made by CM’s son, Udhayanidhi, on an endonym frequently used to refer Hinduism – Sanatana Dharma. Shah said the Opposition bloc ‘hates Hinduism’.
Stalin’s podcast comes a day after Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comments on “eradicating Sanatan Dharma like diseases” sparked a row. Udhayanidhi had said, “There are some things which we have to eradicate and we can’t merely oppose. Mosquitoes, dengue fever, malaria, corona, all these are things which we cannot oppose, we have to eradicate them. Sanatanam is also like this. Eradicating, not opposing, Sanatanam should be our first task.”
In his podcast — referring to BJP’s 9-year rule — Stalin said that there have been many harmful scams that have destroyed the states.
Bringing in the example of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) he said that it has taken away the financial rights of the states, adding that Tamil Nadu lost its right to financial autonomy because of it.
“From 2014 till last year, the tax paid by our state to the Union Government was 5 lakh 16 thousand crore rupees. But, in return, all we got was 2 lakh 8 thousand crore rupees,” he said. Questioning that “If it is argued that the Union Government cannot give the entirety of what they receive from each State, then how is it able to do it in BJP-ruled States?”
He said that Tamil Nadu continues to face huge financial losses in the Finance Commission allocation.
“In the 12th Finance Commission, the allocation of funds to Tamil Nadu was 5.305 percent. However, in the 15th Finance Commission, it was reduced to 4.079 percent,” he said, “The amount of money that Tamil Nadu loses every year isn’t negligible. We are losing thousands of crores which we should get rightfully.”
An India where these facets — social justice, secular politics, socialism, equity, social harmony, state autonomy, federalism, and unity in diversity — thrive in its full glory is the real India, stated CM Stalin in his podcast. He said that the INDIA alliance has been formed to restore such a nation. Stalin said, “It is this INDIA alliance that is going to save India.”
Further, raising the issue of Manipur and Haryana, Stalin cited the 2002 Gujarat violence and said that in 2023, sectarian fire ignited in the northeastern state of Manipur saw the State burn and the fire of religious fanaticism in Haryana is claiming lives and property of innocent people.
Concluding his podcast, CM Stalin said, “Let’s carve out a multi-cultural and diverse India! Let’s save India. For that, let’s first SPEAK FOR INDIA!”
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