Chennai/Kanyakumari: Congress president Rahul Gandhi kicked off the election campaign for the DMK-led UPA front in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of remote controlling the AIADMK government, failing to bring the promised development to the state and the rest of India, and trying to destroy Tamil culture by imposing the RSS brand of polity.
Addressing the UPA poll rally at Nagercoil in the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha constituency, a stronghold of the BJP, Rahul Gandhi supported the contention of DMK chief MK Stalin that the reins of the AIADMK government were in the hands of the PMO. “Delhi is controlling the state which has never happened before,” he said pointing out this made a mockery of an elected government.
Alleging that the Modi government was attempting to distort language, culture and the history of Tamils, Rahul said he along with his alliance leaders —- Stalin, Vaiko, Thirumavalavan, Kadher Moideen and others —- have been defending the spirit of Tamils in their own way, though they cannot be compared with the iconic leaders like Kamaraj or Karunanidhi, who had protected the Tamils’ welfare in every way.
Indirectly alluding to Modi’s “Make in India” initiative, Rahul said Congress would do better with a “Make in Tamil Nadu” programme. “Tamil Nadu has the potential to emerge as the manufacturing capital of the world”, he declared and vowed to create a brand ‘Made in Tamil Nadu’ for products manufactured in the state when his UPA Government takes charge post-poll. And that would generate millions of jobs for the youth now languishing as jobless as his Government would make available ample bank credit to young entrepreneurs, whereas the Modi regime had given away “Rs 35,000 crores to Nirav Modi, Rs 35,000 crore to Mehul Choksi and Ambani Rs 45,000 crores of public funds”.
The Congress president charged PM Modi with trying to split the country into two nations — one belonging to the super rich flying around in their aircraft and making crores of rupees “for doing nothing” and the “other India wherein youth have no jobs, farmers no future, where people are in severe pain”. The UPA Government at the Centre would launch a scheme to guarantee minimum income for every Indian irrespective of state, religion, caste or language, he said.
In his first rally after his party inked a poll pact with the DMK, Rahul said Modi had claimed he wanted to be “chowkidar and not Prime Minister.” “After saying that, the chowkidar gave Rs 30,000 crore to Ambani,” he alleged. The Prime Minister’s “entire foundation is built on lies,” he said and quoted Tamil saint poet Tiruvalluvar’s verse on truth in Tamil, which meant that truth would triumph (apparently referring to the Rafale deal). “And the truth will put Narendra Modi in jail,” he declared,
