"This duplicity of character is unacceptable": Rajnath attacks Stalin

CHENNAI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that "duplicity of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's character is unacceptable" as the latter is now opposing the arrest of his fellow minister Senthil Balaji while the DMK president was the one who called him "corrupt" in the past.

"CM Stalin is opposing the arrest of Minister Senthil Balaji in the 'corruption case'. But when Balaji was in AIADMK, Stalin called him corrupt and demanded his immediate arrest. Now when his demand has been met, he is terming it a political vendetta. This duplicity of character is unacceptable," Rajnath Singh said while addressing a gathering here, organised to mark nine years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre.

The Enforcement Directorate arrested the minister for Electricity and Prohibition and Excise, Balaji on June 14 in connection with an Enforcement Case Information Register (ECIR) filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in 2021. He joined the DMK in December 2018 and assumed office as the Electricity Minister after the party came to power in May 2021.

Rajnath Singh also slammed Stalin after the arrest of Bharatiya Janata Party State Secretary SG Surya over his social media post, critical to CPI Councillor and Madurai MP.

"The way CM Stalin ordered to arrest of BJP leader SG Surya over a tweet, is completely anti-Constitutional and anti-democratic. He is putting democracy in danger by doing this," he said.

During his address, the Defence Minister especially highlighted the Defence Corridor, being built in the southern State.

"I would like to inform you that an investment of about Rs 14,945 crore is planned in the Tamil Nadu Defence Corridor.And so far Rs 4,015 crore has been invested in the project," he said.

Mentioning the importance of Sengol, the sacred sceptre established in the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, Singh said, "When Tamil Nadu is discussed in the whole country, the word Sengol comes to our mind first. Two months ago, hardly anyone outside the State was familiar with the word Sengol."

He said that by establishing Sengol in India's temple of democracy, our Prime Minister has acknowledged Tamil culture's honour and its contribution to the country's cultural nationalism.

"Today India has entered the golden age of independence with new resolutions. India has made a lot of progress in the 75 years after independence, but with the speed and scale at which India needed to be developed, most of the governments did not work after independence," he said.

He said that the Centre's aim is to fully develop Tamil Nadu. "Despite this, there is a continuous attack on the Prime Minister by the opposition parties of the country," he added. Striking the ties of BJP-AIADMK, Singh said, " BJP has an alliance with AIADMK in Tamil Nadu.

This alliance has been formed in the last several years. We value our alliance partners because NDA is not our compulsion but a commitment.

He said that BJP cannot forget when former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government was formed for the first time, it was Tamil Nadu's daughter, 'Puratchi Thalvi', Jaya Amma who supported him.

"Like Atalji, Modiji also has a personal relationship with Tamil Nadu. Its reflection is visible in his work. He has continuously tried the empowerment of Tamil Refugees in Sri Lanka," he said.

"When Modiji visited Sri Lanka after becoming the Prime Minister in 2015, he also visited the Jaffna area and became the first Prime Minister of India to do so. Gave houses to around 27000 Tamil Brothers & Sisters who were rendered homeless due to the civil war there," he added. Singh went on to add that the Central government under the leadership of PM Modi is committed to ensuring that Tamil Refugees in Sri Lanka live with peace, equality and dignity.

"Lakhs of fishermen live in Tamil Nadu. Don't know how many fishermen were arrested by Sri Lanka during the Congress governments. For the first time, such a government has come, which is giving relief to the fishermen community for good diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka," he said.