BJP using 'religion as weapon' to hide flaws, says Stalin after son sparks major row

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday (September 4) hit out at the BJP, alleging that they “have taken religion as their weapon to hide all their flaws”.

Launching his podcast series, ‘Speaking for India’, the chief minister said, “They are inciting the fire of religious sentiments of people and basking in the warmth of its fiery flames.” He alleged that the BJP is trying to damage the basic structure of India, and destroy the sense of unity that Indians have cherished and protected for so long. “We are in a time where each one of us has to speak up for India,” he said.

Seeks support for INDIA

Referring to the BJP’s “divisive agenda”, Stalin said, “In 2002, BJP sowed the seeds of violence and hatred in the state of Gujarat. In 2023, the sectarian fire ignited in the northeastern state of Manipur saw the state burn. In Haryana, the fire of religious fanaticism is claiming lives and property of innocent people. If we don't put an end to this right now, no one can save India and Indians.”

“An India where social justice, secular politics, socialism, equity, social harmony, state autonomy, federalism and unity in diversity thrive in its full glory is the real India,” said the DMK chief.

“We have formed the INDIA alliance to restore such an India. It is this alliance that is going to save India. If we want to prevent the whole of India from becoming Manipur and Haryana, which, unfortunately, fell victim to BJP’s communal politics, and hate-inciting policies, the INDIA alliance must win,” he added.

Stalin said DMK has always been the vanguard, standing at the frontline whenever India's diversity, federalism, and democracy has been threatened. “DMK has made Prime Ministers and Presidents. Now, there is another duty of historical importance that has come our way. More than deciding who should come to power, the 2024 election is about who should not come to power,” he said.

Rudderless Gujarat model

Stalin alleged that the BJP, which came to power in 2014, has failed to fulfill its pre-poll promises, listing out announcements like employment to 2 crore people every year, Rs 15 lakh to every Indian, doubling the income of farmers, own house for every Indian, and turning the country into a 5 trillion dollar economy. “There were many other yarns that were spun that just remained tall tales. It is soon going to be ten years of the BJP governance, and none of those promises have been fulfilled,” he said.

The chief minister said the Narendra Modi model, which came to power “lying about the Gujarat Model, is now going to end” with no significant model to call their own. “It has become a rudderless model, and there are no tall claims about the once-famous Gujarat model either, especially after we listed the achievements of the Dravidian Model in Tamil Nadu with statistical proofs,” he added.

Stalin said it is “disheartening to see how India’s strong public sector is being dismantled and destroyed” by the Union government. “It is clear that they are misusing their power to transfer the public sector to their corporate friends. The welfare of the entire country has been reduced to the welfare of a few,” he said.

No financial autonomy

Stalin alleged that the 9-year BJP rule has witnessed “many scams that have destroyed the states”. Claiming that Tamil Nadu has lost its right to financial autonomy, he said the Union government paid no heed to repeated requests by the states to extend the GST compensation for another 2 years.

“From 2014 till last year, the tax paid by our state to the Union government was Rs 5.16 lakh crore, but in return, all we got was Rs 2.08 lakh crore. If it is argued that the Union government cannot give the entirety of what they receive from each state, then how is it able to do it in BJP-ruled states? A state ruled by BJP has paid only Rs 2.24 lakh crore in taxes, but received a whopping Rs 9.04 lakh crore through tax sharing. This is what we point out as bias and wrong-doing. The BJP government is being vengeful against the Opposition parties,” he alleged.

Claiming that Tamil Nadu continues to face huge financial losses in the Finance Commission allocation, he said the allocation of funds to Tamil Nadu was 5.305 per cent in the 12th Finance Commission, but it was reduced to 4.079 per cent in the 15th Finance Commission. “Major financial burden for many projects is borne by the state government but the Union government wants to take credit for the same. Tamil Nadu has not been given a single special scheme in these 9 years. The BJP-led Union government is only functioning as a vengeful body primed against the state governments,” he added.