Senior BJP leader and Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday took a jibe at the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Congress alliance in Tamil Nadu, saying it was a “sinking ship”, prompting the DMK to attack its understanding with the ruling AIADMK in the state.

Rajnath Singh, who was addressing an election rally in Tamil Nadu’s Perambalur, lashed out at the DMK-Congress poll pact saying, it is not a secular progressive alliance but “just a corrupt alliance.”

“We have formed a strong alliance in Tamil Nadu and across the country. However, Congress has forged an alliance with the DMK in Tamil Nadu. In the past, the DMK’s government was dismissed by the Congress. However, the DMK still has joined hands with Congress. This alliance will not win in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The DMK-Congress coalition is a sinking ship,” Singh said.

The DMK and Congress have sealed the seat-sharing deal in Tamil Nadu for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will contest 20 out of Tamil Nadu’s 39 Lok Sabha seats and leave the rest for its allies, including the Congress. The party has left nine seats in Tamil Nadu for the Congress.

The BJP and AIADMK have also struck an alliance for the Lok Sabha election 2019 under which the national party will contest five parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu.

Reacting to Rajnath Singh’s comments, Tamil Nadu Congress MLA S Vijayadharani said the alliance between the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Bharatiya Janata Party was “opportunistic and unsuitable”.

“The DMK and Congress parties’ alliance is a natural one. However, the AIADMK-BJP alliance is opportunistic and unsuitable. As the home minister travels on a sinking ship (AIADMK-BJP alliance), his phobia makes him say that our alliance in a sinking one,” Vijayadharani said while speaking to the Hindustan Times.

The DMK’s arch-rival and ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) swept the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu in 2014 and won 37 out of the 39 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to win just one seat while the DMK and Congress failed to win any.

The Union home minister also said that India does not want to wage war with Pakistan but only wants to destroy terrorist camps in the neighbouring country, referring to the IAF’s airstrikes in Balakot and Pulwama terror attack in February.

“India is not against Pakistan. We don’t want to wage war with Pakistan. We respect their sovereignty. However, we are acting against terrorists. If terrorists from Pakistan are attacking our soldiers, we have no choice than destroying their camps in Pakistan,” Rajnath Singh said.

The minister also pointed out, “India is not against Pakistani people and their soldiers.”

He further claimed that India has moved up to the fifth rank in the developing countries’ list.

“During the UPA regime, India had very poor ranking among the developing countries list. However, under PM Narendra Modi’s guidance, the nation has emerged as the world’s fifth fastest developing country,” he said.

The home minister said that the Congress government had just built 20 lakh toilets in their tenure. “We made 90% of India equipped with toilets,” he noted.

Tamil Nadu has the most Lok Sabha seats – 39 – after Uttar Pradesh (80), Maharashtra (48) and West Bengal (42).

Voting in all the 39 constituencies in Tamil Nadu will be held during the second round of seven-phased Lok Sabha election 2019 on April 18. The results will be declared on May 23.

First Published: Apr 08, 2019 09:18 IST