Defence Minister Rajnath Singh condemned Nilgiris Lok Sabha MP A. Raja’s remarks against the Chief Minister and his mother, while speaking at an election rally in Udhagamandalam on Wednesday.
While endorsing the BJP’s candidate for Udhagamandalam, M. Bojarajan, Mr. Singh said that a “healthy democracy” was built on respectful discourse and said that Mr. Raja’s remarks were an affront to women across Tamil Nadu.
The Union Minister also criticised the DMK and its party president, M. K. Stalin, stating that the DMK was involved in “communal politics” and “appeasement” while the BJP stood for equal treatment for all. “Both the AIADMK and the BJP stand for equality for all, and no special treatment for any caste, creed or religion,” he said.
Stating that the DMK’s “rising sun set after the death of M. Karunanidhi,” the Minister said that Mr. Stalin was trying hard to stop the party’s slide but with little success.
Mr. Singh said that both the Central and State governments were working hard to bring development to the people of Tamil Nadu. He said that defence corridors were being established in only two states in India – Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, with the defence industrial corridor in Tamil Nadu set to bring in ₹8,00 crores in investment to Tamil Nadu.
The Defence Minister also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first head of state to visit the civil-war affected area of Jaffna in Sri Lanka, while India had also built 27,000 new houses for Sri Lankan Tamils who were left homeless after the war. “We have also managed to get more than 1,600 Tamil fisherman who were detained, released, and also 300 boats which were impounded by the Sri Lankan Navy,” he said. Moreover, he said that income support would be extended to fishermen across the state.
Mr. Singh also spoke of the Chinese incursion into the Galwan valley, and said that the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of India would not be compromised at any cost. He said that the Congress party was belittling the sacrifice of the jawans, and said that the “DMK and Congress are strange bedfellows. They are like two people who get married, but who have no chemistry,” adding that the alliance with the Congress party was pulling the DMK down.