Chennai: Taking strong exception to the recent remark of DMK president M. K. Stalin that lotus (BJP symbol) can’t bloom without the sun (rising sun symbol of the DMK), Union Minister of State for Finance and Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan said Tamil Nadu does not need that sun, which makes the State a ‘desert.’
“We definitely need the natural sun but not that rising sun which will transform Tamil Nadu into a desert,” Mr Radhakrishnan said when sought for his comments on Stalin’s averment. Also, the Minister claimed that the DMK had lost the respect that late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had earned for himself by converting his statue unveiling function into a mere opposition parties’ meeting (in Chennai on Sunday).
“I am unable to say if the unveiling of late Karunanidhi’s statue has brought him honour, because he has earned the respect from all sections despite his ideology. Today the DMK has lost the respect that Karunanidhi had earned,” Mr. Radh-akrishnan said.
On the BJP’s defeat in the five Assembly elections including its stronghold Rajasthan, the Minister admitted that it was a “slip” but not a “fall.” “You can’t judge the party based on the results of the five State Assembly polls. For instance in Kanyakumari district I secured over 3.73 lakhs votes and went to the Parliament. But unfortunately the BJP did not secure a single seat in the Assembly election in TN,” he said.
Assembly election results are not based on panchayat poll results nor can Assembly results be the deciding factor for the Lok Sabha polls because every State will have its own region specific issue, he added.
The Minister asserted that his BJP would secure more seats in the 2019 LS polls and PM Narendra Modi would return to power with more MPs than ever to transform India into a superpower.
