Chief Minister said that the Union Minister had no idea as to what was happening and enunciated the achievements of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department
Chennai: Condemning Union Home Minister Amit Shah for denigrating Tamil Nadu through his false allegation that the State was working towards putting an end to Hindu religious and worship rights, Chief Minister M K Stalin said the 2026 Assembly elections were a challenge to the self-respect of Tamil people since, as Shah himself had asked, it would decide if the State should be ruled by someone from the State or by someone from New Delhi.
Speaking at a government event to inaugurate developmental programmes, lay foundation for new projects and distribute assistance to beneficiaries of welfare schemes at the Velu Nachiyar premises in Dindigul district on Wednesday, Stalin thanked Amit Shah for his open confession that Tamil Nadu would be ruled by the BJP if the AIADMK was voted to power by posing the question, ‘should Narendra Modi rule Tamil Nadu or not?’
Taking exception to Amit Shah disparaging the State, the Chief Minister said that the Union Minister had no idea as to what was happening and enunciated the achievements of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department that had conducted the consecration of 4000 temples in the last four and a half years of DMK rule and asked if such a thing had happened in any of the BJP-ruled States.
It was unbecoming of a Home Minister to talk ill of the State when so much had been done for Hinduism, including the retrieval of 5655 acres of land, belonging to 997 temples and totally worth Rs 7,701 crore from encroachers, to the full satisfaction of the devotees and religious leaders, he said.
Giving due respect to the religious sentiments of people from all faiths, the Government had been protecting their human rights, too, in the process, he said, adding that only the wishes of those wanting to stoke communal riots by creating division among people had not been fulfilled and it would never be fulfilled as long as he was the Chief Minister, he said.
Stating that the 2,22,91,710 ‘rice ration card holders’ would be given dhoti and sari as Pongal gifts along with the Rs 3000 cash and the gift hamper with a kilo of raw rice, a kilo of sugar and one full length of sugarcane, he said that government had set aside Rs 7,600 for the festival bonanza.
Talking about the recent scheme to provide laptops to college students, he said it was during the tenure of AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami the laptop distribution was stopped in 2019 and the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General had alleged that Rs 68 crore was wasted on the purchase of 55,000 laptops.
Continuing his charges against the opposition leader, he said that Palaniswami was striving to usher in a BJP rule that belittled Tamil people in the northern States, had been persistently thrusting NEET on the State, refusing educational funds, imposing NEP and trying to reduce the State’s democratic strength through delimitation, he said.
