INDIA bloc's dream of making Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister, and Udhayanidhi Stalin the Chief Minister will never come true, Shah said in Tirunelveli.
Published Aug 22, 2025 | 7:01 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 22, 2025 | 7:01 PM
Union Home Minister Amit Shah with K Annamalai and Nainar Nagendran in Tirunelveli on Friday. (BJPTamilNadu/X)
Synopsis: Addressing a booth committee conference in Tirunelveli, Union Home Minister Amit Shah appealed to Tamil pride, and listed out the achievements of the Narendra Modi government in ensuring national security.
Union Minister Amit Shah on Friday, 22 August, defended the 130th Amendment Bill, which will make any minister lose his or her post if jailed for 30 days for committing a serious offence.
Addressing the BJP’s booth committee conference in Tirunelveli, Shah cited the examples of former Tamil Nadu ministers and DMK leaders, V Senthil Balaji and K Ponmudi, who were jailed in separate cases.
“The Opposition parties are opposing this (Bill), but I ask them, in Tamil Nadu, several ministers, including Ponmudi and Senthil Balaji, have been jailed. Can those in jail continue as ministers? Stalin calls this a ‘black law,’ but he has no moral right to oppose it when his own leaders are steeped in black deeds,” he said.
The DMK government, he alleged, was the “most corrupt regime in India”, and cited the alleged irregularities in TASMAC liquor sales, free dhoti-saree schemes, transport contracts, and MGNREGA funds.
Contrasting this with the NDA’s agenda, Shah said, “Our alliance is for the development of Tamil Nadu. The INDIA bloc only dreams of making Udhayanidhi the Chief Minister and Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister. These dreams will never come true. The NDA will win overwhelmingly,” Shah said.
Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP’s national president JP Nadda for nominating CP Radhakrishnan as NDA’s vice-presidential candidate, the Home Minister compared it to the elevation of APJ Abdul Kalam as the President.
“When the Rajya Sabha convenes next, a son of this soil will preside as its Chairman,” Shah said.
Praising Modi’s leadership, he said the Prime Minister had organised a grand celebration for Raja Raja Chola and unveiled his memorial. On national security, he cited Modi’s swift response to the Pahalgam killings, Operation Sindoor, and Operation Mahadev, to “eliminate those responsible, even inside Pakistan”.
He also showcased the alliance’s organisational strength, noting that more than 25,000 booth committee members from over 7,000 booths attended the event. In the last election, the BJP secured 18 percent and the AIADMK 21 percent of the vote, which together accounted for 39 percent.
“This shows the NDA is already on strong ground to form the next government in Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Shah recalled Modi’s Independence Day address, where the Prime Minister promised relief to ordinary citizens by reducing GST rates on essential commodities.
The conference was the BJP’s show of strength ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.
Addressing the gathering, the party’s state president and MLA Nainar Nagendran said the AIADMK-BJP alliance would decisively win the polls.
Nagendran took a jibe at actor Vijay and his party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. “Some people have started new parties with glamour, but the real fight will be between the DMK and the AIADMK-BJP alliance. The DMK criticises our alliance now, but did it not look opportunistic when the DMK itself was allied with the BJP in the past?” he asked.
BJP’s former state president K Annamalai said the NDA workers were duty-bound to ensure AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami’s return as the Chief Minister.
“It is the responsibility of the NDA cadre to ensure that EPS becomes the Chief Minister again. Chief Minister MK Stalin fears everything — he is a leader who is constantly afraid,” he said.
Highlighting the BJP’s contributions to Tamil Nadu, he added, “Under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, the Union government has brought pride to Tamil Nadu. The elevation of CP Radhakrishnan as Vice-President is a matter of honour for our state.”
Setting the tone for the 2026 campaign, he urged workers to ensure the NDA forms the government in Tamil Nadu.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
