TTV, AIADMK must unite and support BJP: Minister

Athawale came to inaugurate a school building at Sankarankovil in Tirunelveli district and on the way he carried out a review meeting in Madurai with the district officials. Following the review meeting, he addressed reporters along with Madurai Collector K Veera Raghav Rao. 

He said that the Union government is doing more for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, but the opposition parties are making a false propaganda that the BJP government is against caste-based reservation and will abolish it. But, BJP leaders like Modi and party president Amit Shah have promised that they will not abolish reservation. 

“Though it is true that 47,000 atrocities against Dalits have been registered last year, it was not because of the BJP in power. For that instance no political party is responsible for atrocities against Dalits. Casteism is the only factor responsible for all the atrocities against Dalits because the Upper caste people are against the caste-based reservation and so they should also be given 25 per cent reservation based on their economic status,” said Athawale. 

Speaking about Tamil Nadu politics, he said, “The AIADMK has 37 Lok Sabha MPs and many MPs in Rajya Sabha. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is weak and so under the leadership of Modi, the BJP will once again come to power. The AIADMK should support the BJP-led NDA directly after the election for the benefit of people of Tamil Nadu.” 

He also informed that he is a good friend of TTV Dhinakaran, founder of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, as both were MPs at the same time. “During my recent interaction with him, I had asked him to merge with the AIADMK and to put up a united fight in the 2019 election.”