BJP stokes fire of religious sentiments and basks in its warmth, says MK Stalin in maiden podcast

வஞ்சிக்கும் பா.ஜ.க.வை வீழ்த்துவோம்; இந்தியாவை மீட்டெடுப்போம்! #Speaking4India pic.twitter.com/C60TrlPTOG

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) September 4, 2023

Also read: What Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin’s ‘more than a podcast’ is about

Why was INDIA bloc formed?

Stalin noted that the INDIA bloc was formed to restore the country to the facets that it thrives on, and said the alliance was going to save the country.

He said: “If we want to prevent the whole of India from becoming Manipur and Haryana, which, unfortunately, fell victim to the BJP’s communal politics and hate-inciting policies, the INDIA bloc must win.”

He added: “Let’s carve out a multicultural and diverse India! Let’s save India. For that, let’s first speak for India!”

Stalin continued: “This will not only be the voice of MK Stalin but the voice of INDIA. Ensure my voice becomes the voice of everyone in India. Let INDIA be the real winner! We are in a time where each and every one of us has to speak up for India.”

Also read: ‘DMK will make wholehearted efforts to coordinate with Opposition’

‘BJP using religion to hide shortcomings’

Stalin said in the podcast that the BJP was trying to damage the basic structure of India and destroy the sense of unity that Indians have cherished and protected for so long.

He said: “The BJP government at the Centre is handling religion as a weapon to hide all its shortcomings, and is stoking the fire of religious sentiments of people and basking in its warmth.”

He added: “In 2002, the BJP sowed the seeds of violence and hatred in the state of Gujarat. In 2023, the sectarian fire ignited in the northeastern state of Manipur saw the state burn. In Haryana, the fire of religious fanaticism is claiming the lives and property of innocent people. If we don’t put an end to this right now, no one can save India and Indians.”

The BJP, which came to power at the Centre in 2014, failed to fulfil its pre-election promises, especially with regard to welfare schemes such as recovering black money deposited in foreign countries, depositing ₹15 lakh in every Indian’s bank account, guaranteed employment to 2 crore people every year, doubling farmers’ income, ensuring houses for every Indian, and making the country into a $5-trillion economy.

“There were many other yarns that were spun that just remained tall tales. It is soon going to be 10 years of the BJP government, and none of those promises have been fulfilled,” the DMK leader said.

He claimed that the Narendra Modi Model, which came to power by lying about the Gujarat Model, was now going to end with no significant model to call its own.

“It has become a rudderless model, and there are no tall claims about the once-famous Gujarat Model either, especially after we listed the achievements of the Dravidian Model in Tamil Nadu with statistical proof,” he said.

Also read: Countdown for BJP’s end has begun, says MK Stalin

On the public sector

It was disheartening to see how India’s strong public sector was being dismantled and destroyed by the Union government, said Stalin in the podcast.

It was clear that the BJP was misusing its power to deliver the public sector to its corporate friends, he added.

“The welfare of the entire country has been reduced to the welfare of a few,” he said, alleging that airports and ports all over India were going into the hands of private organisations.

The Union government paid no heed to repeated requests by states to extend GST compensation for another two years, he noted.

Tamil Nadu gives huge amounts of funds annually to the Union Government through taxes, said Stalin, adding that, the state gets back only 29 paise for every rupee paid as tax revenue.

From 2014 till last year, the tax paid by Tamil Nadu to the Union government was ₹5.16 lakh crore. “But, in return, all we got was ₹2.8 lakh crore,” the chief minister said.

Also read: If opposing BJP means risk to DMK regime, so be it, says Stalin

Invoking stalwarts

Stalin, in his podcast, quoted former chief minister CN Annadurai, who said that the DMK should be taken to spearhead the Opposition to the unitary nature.

He also echoed the words of late chief minister and his father M Karunanidhi, who proclaimed that the DMK must operate as a party from Tamil Nadu that will always speak for India.

Stalin said that whenever India’s diversity, federalism, and democracy were under threat, the DMK had always been the vanguard, standing on the frontlines.

“Another duty of historical importance now was more than deciding who should come to power, the 2024 election is about who should not come to power,” Stalin said.

Also read: ‘Tamil Nadu will reject any form of Hindi hegemony and imposition’

(With PTI inputs)