Is fear of defeat making Modi invoke MGR, Jayalalithaa, asks TN CM

Salem (Tamil Nadu), Mar 30 (PTI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday sought to know from Prime Minister Narendra Modi why he invoked the names of AIADMK leaders: M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, and wondered if it was the fear of defeat at the hustings that made him lavish praises on the leaders.

In the past the prime minister had criticised late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and even called her regime a corrupt one, he said.

"The BJP hopes to retain its election deposit and does not want its vote share to dip below the NOTA. That is why Modi is now suddenly praising MGR and Jayalalithaa," Stalin, who is the president of the DMK said while garnering votes for his party candidates: T M Selvaganapathy for Salem Lok Sabha constituency and D Malaiarasan for Kallakurichi seat.

The chief minister slammed the BJP government at the Centre for targeting his government on drug smuggling and said the drug seizure was more prevalent in BJP-ruled states.

"We are an example of how a state government should function. The BJP government is an example of how a union government should not function. Prime Minister Modi who came to Salem a few days ago had said that we have lost sleep. People are actually losing sleep over BJP government's failures," Stalin said and listed the hike in fuel prices, LPG cylinder prices, and agricultural laws among others to substantiate his case.

He claimed the prime minister lost his sleep after the electoral bonds scam that surfaced leading to the weakening of the BJP's winning prospects in the general election.

The BJP was under the impression that it could win by dividing people on religious and caste lines but this will not work in Tamil Nadu even for another 100 years, as it was the soil of rationalist 'Periyar' Ramasamy. The DMK would not allow the BJP's intentions to fructify, he added.

The Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu will be held on April 19. PTI JSP KH