Why do you harbour so much hatred against Tamils, Tamil Nadu CM Stalin asks PM Modi

CHENNAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi should stop denigrating Tamil Nadu and Tamils for votes in north India where the polling for the ongoing general election is still ongoing, said Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday.

Taking strong exception to Modi’s statement in Odisha that the missing keys of Puri Jagannath temple’s treasury were in Tamil Nadu, a thinly veiled attack on Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s close aide VK Pandian, Stalin said this statement not only insulted Lord Jagannath worshipped by crores of people but was offensive to the Tamils who maintain cordial relations with the people of Odisha.

Wondering if Modi was trying to instigate the people of Odisha against the Tamils, Stalin asked, "Can Prime Minister Modi accuse the people of Tamil Nadu of stealing the treasury of Lord Jagannath of Puri? Doesn’t terming the people here dishonest amount to insulting Tamil Nadu? Why does the PM harbour so much hatred against Tamils?"

The same Prime Minister, who glorifies the Tamil language and lauds the intellectual capacity of Tamils when he is in the State, projects the people as 'thieves' and 'hate-mongers' when he campaigns in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, Stalin criticised.

“People will understand his double standards. The Prime Minister must stop denigrating Tamil Nadu and Tamils for votes,” Stalin cautioned.

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The Prime Minister, who is expected to be a role model for others by highlighting his government's achievements, his party's ideology and level constructive criticism against the Opposition without violating political decorum, was promoting enmity between states and people through his hate speeches, he added, warning that such speeches do not augur well for the country.

Recalling his earlier criticism against the PM's statement that leaders of southern states including Tamil Nadu were speaking derogatorily about the people of Uttar Pradesh, Stalin said that the PM has still not stopped the practice of insulting and denigrating the people of Tamil Nadu.

Early last week, Stalin who is also the president of the ruling DMK, said Modi was making provocative hate speeches unbecoming of the position he was occupying due to the fear of an imminent election defeat.

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