LS polls: Annamalai launches campaign with scathing attack on CM Stalin over corruption

CHENNAI: State BJP president K Annamalai hit the campaign trail for the April 19 Lok Sabha polls on Friday with a blistering attack on Chief Minister MK Stalin and his party.

He said that, 'If there is one family that exists to deceive people, it is the Gopalapuram family.'

Launching his poll campaign at Sriperumbudur for Tamil Maanila Congress (M) candidate VN Venugopal, Annamalai said, “At the end of his 10-year regime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had advanced India from 11th place to 5th place in economy. But in the last 33 months, the DMK government’s achievement is to have taken a loan of Rs 3.5 lakh crores. DMK’s achievement is that it has promoted Tamil Nadu from the 3rd place to the first place in borrowing.”

Slamming the ruling DMK government, the saffron party leader said the DMK’s achievement is to destroy people’s livelihood and increase their income, adding that the DMK government is an anti-farmer government by imposing Goondas Act on the farmers who fought against the proposed SIPCOT land acquisition.

Pointing out the Modi government’s achievements and Stalin government’s performance in the last 33 months, Annamalai said If the people of Tamil Nadu give first prize for deceiving people, then they can give it to the DMK.

“After deceiving the people for 33 months, Stalin is meeting the people and canvassing voters without any shame. He has not fulfilled even 20 of the promises made in his 2021 manifesto,” he said.

Further, Annamalai criticised the ruling DMK government over social justice and said Modi is the one who does not follow social justice in mere words like DMK but gives due representation to everyone in the Cabinet and shows social justice in action.

“It is the National Democratic Alliance that is fighting for social justice, not the DMK,” he noted.

Taking a dig at the Dravidian majors, the former IPS officer said, “The DMK is campaigning like Assembly elections and AIADMK is campaigning like Local Body elections. But this is a Parliamentary general election. The AIADMK says that they are contesting the elections to emphasise the Central government, but we are the ones who will be part of the Union government.”

He also slammed the DMK candidate for Sriperumbudur and a sitting MP, TR Baalu over corruption charges and said in 2024, TR Baalu’s wife’s wealth increased by 350 per cent as compared to 2019 and this is the achievement of Baalu.

“The people of Tamil Nadu are clear. In all 39 Lok Sabha constituencies, the NDA candidates will win,” added Annamalai.

Annamalai also campaigned for Tiruvallur BJP candidate Pon V Balaganapathy, Chennai North BJP candidate RC Paul Kanagaraj, Chennai Central BJP candidate Vinoj P Selvam and Chennai South BJP candidate Tamilisai Soundararajan on Friday at various places in their respective constituencies.

TN is fed up with DMK’s misrule: PM Modi

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also slammed the ruling DMK, which leads the INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu.

“It is equally true that Tamil Nadu is fed up with DMK misrule and is looking towards BJP with great hope,” Modi said in his social media post and commended the BJP workers for ensuring BJP’s good governance agenda is communicated effectively across the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also hold a ‘Enathu Booth Valimaiyana Booth’ interaction with Tamil Nadu BJP workers, through the NaMo app on Friday evening.