Elect 25 NDA MPs from TN: Amit Shah

Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday seemed to obliquely seek a price from the people of Tamil Nadu for the installation of a sengol, a Chola-style sceptre, in the new Parliament. Addressing a rally in Vellore to mark nine years of the Narendra Modi government, Shah appealed to the people of the state to elect 25 National Democratic Alliance candidates in next year’s general election “to thank him (Prime Minister Modi) for the sengol”. “A Narendra Modi government with 300 seats is set to be formed again in 2024. I appeal to you to elect 25 NDA colleagues of Modi to Parliament to thank him for the sengol.” Earlier during his speech, too, Shah had sought at least 25 of Tamil Nadu’s 39 Lok Sabha seats in 2024, stressing that some of these MPs would be made ministers. He also referred to the 2019 summit between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jingping at Mamallapuram, asserting the event was held in Tamil Nadu to promote tourism. Shah claimed that Modi had promoted Tamil culture and literature not only in India but across the globe. He attacked the state’s DMK government, accusing it of corruption and nepotism.