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Amit Shah sounds warning bell for Tamil Nadu regime

BJP national chief, who had put off his visit to Chennai twice in the past, finally made it now, to gear up the TN unit for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Chennai: BJP president Amit Shah on Monday virtually sounded a stiff warning to the Tamil Nadu Government on the critical planks of corruption and maintenance of law.

Stressing that corruption had been weeded out wherever the BJP formed the government or was part of the ruling dispensation, Shah said, "But I am pained when I think of Tamil Nadu. It is counted among the most corrupt states. We will finish corruption here too. We will also effectively tackle law and order issues, if we are part of an alliance that forms its government here".

Considering the various jolts and controversies that the AIADMK Government has been facing since the demise of Jayalalithaa, the BJP chief's corruption missile could be rather embarrassing for the EPS regime. Besides, the law and order dig syncs with the oft-repeated warnings from Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan on the increase of extremists' presence in the State; not to forget the BJP ire over the spate of agitations against development projects and the 'GoBack' campaigns by black-shirted fringe elements claiming to be Tamil nationalists.

Addressing the 15,000-plus members of the party's Sakthi and Maha Sakthi Kendras in Tamil Nadu at the VGP Golden Beach resort on the ECR near here, Shah said the party would forge electoral alliance with 'untainted' parties in the state and the government in the state would be a NDA one.

"We will decide on alliance formation after September - October with a party that eliminates corruption and upholds law and order. The next government in Tamil Nadu will be corruption-free rule of the NDA," he said, insisting that the BJP alliance in TN would be "a formidable one".

"We will merge as a big force and our alliance will be formidable," he said and appealed to the party members to take a pledge to ensure Prime Minister Narendra Modi is re-elected in 2019 and the government at the Centre is formed under his leadership. And in order to make this happen, the BJP should strengthen the party machinery at booth committee level by this September end, he added.

"Will you strengthen the booth committees? Will you work to form the Modi government again and prepare TN for NDA rule? Then raise both your hands and say Bharat Mata ki jai," he urged and the crowd responded by repeating the thunderous slogan.

Shah wanted BJP workers to fan out across Tamil Nadu to ensure people reaped the benefits of over 120 schemes launched by the Modi government for women, poor, Dalits and other deprived sections of society. He said TN was priority for Centre's development agenda and pointed out that projects worth over Rs 5 lakh crore were allotted to the state in the last four years.

"When they (the DMK) were in power at the Centre, the 13th Finance Commission gave TN '94,540 crore. When the Modi government came into being, the 14th Finance Commission earmarked '1,99,096 crore for the state. What the Modi government did for the state in the last four years, no dispensation could do in 70 years," Shah said, listing out various centrally-sponsored projects and funds allocated for TN.

The BJP national chief, who had put off his visit to Chennai twice in the past, finally made it now, to gear up the TN unit for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Arriving by a special aircraft to a rousing reception by the party functionaries and cadres at the Chennai airport, he drove straight to the VGP venue to begin his series of meetings.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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