Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unable to answer questions in the Parliament and is enacting a drama, said chief minister MK Stalin on Friday, adding that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will bring a new dawn upon India in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The DMK president made these remarks while speaking during the wedding of party functionary Parithi Illam Surithi in Chennai. Stalin said most of the MLAs couldn’t attend the wedding as they are working for the Erode east bypoll that are scheduled for February 27 and the MPs were busy in Delhi.
“The Prime Minister is not able to respond to anything. He is enacting a drama. Were they able to answer any of the questions raised by our party leader TR Baalu?” Stalin said.
Listing out the issues that DMK MPs A Raja, Dayanidhi Maran, Trichy Siva and Tamizhachi Thangapandian have raised in the Parliament, the Tamil Nadu CM pointed out that there was no response when Baalu urged the Union government to revive the Sethusamudram project.
“Modi became PM on promise of creating employment opportunities for two crore people annually,” Stalin said. “When we asked what happened to promise, there was no response. The PM said he will bring back black money stashed abroad and put ₹15 lakh in every Indian citizen’s bank account. Forget ₹15 lakh, has he brought back even ₹15,000 or merely ₹15?”
Stalin mentioned his half-sister and Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, and his son and newly minted sports minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who had questioned the status of AIIMS, Madurai.
Modi had laid the foundation stone for the project back in 2019. Ahead of the 2021 assembly elections, Udhayanidhi carried a brick with AIIMS written on it to campaign against the BJP-led central government’s delay.
“Udhayanidhi went across Tamil Nadu with that brick. Shouldn’t the Centre feel some shame after that?” Stalin stated. “Just as you (DMK) brought a dawn upon Tamil Nadu in 2021, we will witness a dawn upon India in 2024. And I ask you to start preparing for it,” Stalin said.
On Friday, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya responded to Baalu in the House and said education of students in AIIMS, Madurai has started and only the infrastructure is not present. DMK and Congress MPs had staged a walk out after this reply.
Speaking to HT, Tamil Nadu BJP’s vice president Narayanan Thirupathy said that the chief minister is assuming that the Parliament functions like how he runs the state assembly under Rule 110, which was introduced by late ex-CM J Jayalalithaa to pass suo motu resolutions without holding discussions.
“When an MP raises questions, the ministries concerned respond. Whether it is Dayanidhi Maran or Kanimozhi, the ministers concerned have given befitting replies and exposed the DMK,” said Thirupathy.
“Stalin is mistaken, misguided and making a childish demand,” Thirupathy added.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) ally, the AIADMK, under Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS), said the upcoming bypoll will be a precursor for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
EPS said, “After AIADMK wins this bypoll, we will win all 40 seats in the Lok Sabha elections,” referring to 39 seats in Tamil Nadu and a lone seat in the neighbouring Puducherry union territory.
