Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should spell out what central schemes the state government has “blocked”, and said those it opposed include NEET and the CAA, keeping public welfare in mind.
The chief minister was responding to Modi’s claim that there was lack of cooperation from the DMK-led TN government in implementing central projects in the state. The PM made these claims during his public address on Wednesday in Tirunelveli, in the southern part of the state.
Stalin, on his part, referred to Modi’s frequent visits to Tamil Nadu, saying “the fear of defeat on his face is evident and it manifests as anger.” The PM is “slandering” the DMK and its government, the chief minister alleged.
“He says we are blocking projects launched by him. It would be convenient to respond if he could list out which projects he brought that we were an impediment to,” the CM said in a letter to party workers ahead of his 71st birthday on Friday.
He asked if the DMK was against AIIMS or Metro Rail and if the government had ever stayed away from allotting land to central initiatives. “The PM is making generalised allegations,” the CM remarked.
If at all the DMK was opposed to certain central initiatives, it was the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, as they are against the interests of students and Sri Lankan refugees, respectively, he explained.
The DMK also opposed the New Education Policy and the erstwhile three farm laws, he said, adding that the party had been forthright about its opposition on the two issues.
“Modi, who heads a heartless government that denies the due grants to a state, prevents borrowing, doesn’t sanction even flood relief money, has no right to criticise the DMK,” Stalin, the ruling party chief, further said.
Today, the DMK has the “duty” of “defeating fascism and communalism to uphold democracy and pluralism” in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and to ensure the victory of the opposition INDIA bloc, he told his party workers.