MK Stalin, the leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, has written to his party members to criticise the BJP-led Union government for allegedly using the government’s agencies to target the opposition parties and to explain what happened at the most recent large-scale opposition gathering in Bengaluru.
In the letter, MK Stalin charged that the BJP was engaging in political oppression by launching raids and smear campaigns against opposition parties.
The DMK chief said that the BJP government’s actions were making it simpler for the DMK and its allies to win the upcoming 2024 general elections. He was referring to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on senior DMK minister K Ponmudy and his son and MP Gautham Sigamani, which occurred on the morning Stalin was travelling to Bengaluru to attend the opposition meeting.
‘DMK is a movement that has passed through such tests, threats, and crises. Kalaignar Karunanidhi has taught us the resilience to face such testing times and bounce back,’ Stalin told his cadres.
He further emphasised that the DMK and other parties that were essentially opposed to the BJP’s ‘sectarian, anti-democratic, authoritarian’ bent were being targeted by central agencies.
‘Those leaders who are targeted by the central agencies in corruption cases from the opposition ranks are sprinkled with holy water and turned into saints if they join the BJP,’ Stalin further charged.
He stated that the CBI and Income Tax took no action and didn’t even conduct a proper probe against the previous AIADMK ministers who were the subject of corruption charges, highlighting the BJP’s allegedly inconsistent stance on the matter.
Stalin added: ‘Even when the Union Home Ministry gave sanction to prosecute two IPS officers named in the Gutkha scam, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi is refusing to give his consent to prosecute two former AIADMK ministers in the same case. Not only the investigative agencies but the position of governor is also being used for political purposes by the BJP.’
The DMK president drew attention to a recent large-scale gathering of opposition parties that took place in Bengaluru and claimed that the BJP, which previously dismissed the gathering as little more than a photo opportunity, is now paralysed by fear.
‘While the dates for a meeting of opposition parties in Bengaluru were decided and announced in advance, the BJP hurriedly called for a meeting of NDA allies in Delhi. Many party leaders, including EPS, who is in charge of a faction of the AIADMK, were forced to show their loyalty. The BJP has no one except these parties. The real situation is that neither side (BJP or its allies) has influence with the people,’ Stalin claimed.
He also criticised the BJP for its alleged hypocrisy by pointing out that the Prime Minister talked about fighting corruption by standing by the side of party leaders who are being investigated for corruption.
Importantly, Stalin noted that the BJP’s ‘fake patriotism’ mask was coming off in response to the opposition alliance’s moniker, I.N.D.I.A.
‘The BJP and its cohorts, who have acted as if they were the sole tenants of India’s patriotism for so long, is now showing reluctance to utter the name India after the opposition alliance was named so. One can see how their mask of fake patriotism has come off. The word India has now become a word they don’t like,’ he stated.
Mocking the BJP further, the DMK chief said: ‘The BJP leaders kept asking people to go to Pakistan if they don’t like India. Now we do not know which country the BJP leaders are going to get a visa for.’
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