In swipe at Cong & DMK, Shah dubs them '2G, 3G, 4G' parties

CHENNAI: Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday took a swipe at the Congress and DMK over dynasty politics and alleged corruption, calling them ''2G, 3G, 4G'' parties and said the time has come in Tamil Nadu to throw away these and give the power to a ''son of the soil''.

Responding to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin's demand that Shah list out the Centre's special schemes for Tamil Nadu in the past nine years, the senior BJP leader detailed the various initiatives of the Narendra Modi-led Union government for the state in sectors including aviation, railways and roads.

Addressing a public meeting here to highlight the nine years of the BJP-led NDA government's achievements, he also lashed out at the two opposition parties at the Centre for opposing the abrogation of Article 370 and lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ''uniting Kashmir'' with India with a stroke of the pen.

''Congress and DMK are 2G, 3G, 4G parties. I am not talking about the 2G (spectrum allocation scam). 2G means two generations, 3G means three generations and 4G means four generations,'' he said.

''The Maran family (of the DMK) is doing corruption for two generations. The Karunanidhi family is doing corruption for three generations. The Gandhi family is 4G. Rahul Gandhi is fourth generation and for four generations they are enjoying power,'' Shah said attacking the two parties.

He said the time has come to ''throw out 2G, 3G, 4G and give the power in Tamil Nadu to a son of the soil.'' Asking the crowd if Article 370 should have been removed or not and ''if Kashmir is ours or not,'' he said both Congress and DMK opposed the abrogation of the Article which gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status.

''Both these parties -- Congress and DMK -- were against its abrogation. With one stroke of the pen on August 5, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra modi ended Article 370 and united Kashmir with India,'' Shah added.

He charged the DMK and Congress of indulging in corruption running to several thousands of crores of rupees during its 10 year period from 2004 to 2014 and said there were no such allegations against the nine-year-old NDA government.

Taking on Stalin over his remarks on the establishment of AIIMS Madurai, Shah said while the DMK was in power for 18 years at the Centre, it had not taken steps to bring the premier medical facility to Tamil Nadu ''but only does corruption'', even as he highlighted the various initiatives of the Centre for Tamil Nadu.

This included a manifold increase in devolution of funds to Tamil Nadu, allocation of a defence corridor, two Vande Bharat train services, a new integrated airport terminal that was inaugurated by PM Modi recently here, 11 medical colleges in as many districts benefitting over 1,400 students, renovation of major railway stations in the state including Chennai Egmore and Madurai, a new ESIC medical college hospital that would come up in Coimbatore at an estimated Rs 1,500 crore, 62 lakh toilets and over 2,500 km of roads.

Besides these, the Centre and PM Modi in particular were doing a lot for the Tamil language.

In many global fora, the Prime Minister has heaped praised on Tamil language, its icons, the Tamil culture and the literature. Tamil classic Tirukkural has been translated into 13 Indian languages. Shah highlighted the Kashi and Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam events and said it was an effort by the Centre to popularise the language in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, respectively.

Referring to the 2019 summit between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mamallapuram near here, Shah said the PM promoted Tamil Nadu's tourism by inviting the neighbouring country's leader for talks here.

He also hailed the installation of the 'Sengol' (sceptre) in the Parliament during its inauguration last month by Modi.

Further, aspirants can now write CAPF exams and NEET in Tamil, which was not the case when the Congress-led UPA, in which the DMK was a key constituent, was in power, he said.

Expressing confidence that the BJP will return to power with 300 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Union Cooperation Minister wanted Tamil Nadu to return 25 NDA parliamentarians, and said some among them could be inducted in the cabinet as well.

At the event, Shah was presented a 'Sengol' as memento.

Earlier in the day, Shah attended a meeting of the BJP's Tamil Nadu leaders, including its state president K Annamalai, in Chennai.

At the meeting, he pitched for making a Tamil as Prime Minister in the future, party sources said.

The BJP veteran, also its former national president, made the remarks at the closed door meeting.

Meanwhile, a power cut outside the airport last night when Shah arrived in the city has not gone down well with the BJP leaders.

At the Vellore public meeting, Annamalai, in an apparent jibe at the ruling DMK said: ''You may swithch off the lights but not the BJP workers' enthusiasm.''