Five state polls will teach lesson to BJP for abusing central agencies: Alagiri

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K S Alagiri on Thursday said that the five-state Assembly poll results would teach a lesson to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for using central agencies ED, IT and CBI as allies against the opposition.

Taking strong exception to his BJP counterpart K Annamalai's comparison of growth in the previous UPA and the incumbent BJP regime, Alagiri said the price of one US $ was Rs 58.62 in 2014 and it has risen to Rs 82.71 in 2023, reducing the value of rupee by 40%.

Wondering if Annamalai was aware of the impact such decline in economy had on the people, Alagiri criticized the Enforcement Directorate's submission in the court that sand smuggling to the tune of Rs 4,700 had happened in the DMK regime and asked what was the basis for the ED making such claims?

Remarking that the Madras High Court has stayed the ED summon to five district collectors because the ED was acting with a political motive, the TNCC president said, "When no party has come forward to forge alliance with the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has forged alliance with the ED, Income Tax department, CBI and governors of opposition ruled states."

Claiming that PM Modi has faced the critique of the people and opposition parties owing to the abuse of central agencies, the TNCC chief said that the PM would learn the lessons for it in the five-state Assembly polls. "If it were claimed that the country was growing under Modi rule, then that growth would only be for a few industrialists like Ambani and Adani and not the 140 crore Indians, " Alagiri added drawing a parallel between the previous UPA and incumbent NDA regimes on various key parameters of the economic or national growth.