In addition, the DMK leader made reference to the riots in Gujarat in 2002, saying that “hatred sown in Gujarat in 2002” has led to sectarian conflict in Manipur and racial conflicts in Haryana in 2023.
In today’s press release, the Bharatiya Janata Party criticised MK Stalin, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu and president of the DMK, for criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the first episode of his podcast series. The party asserted that allegations in the podcast are “lies” and that PM Modi never made the guarantee that 15 lakh would be placed in each person’s account.
Mr. Stalin said in the podcast episode that was published this morning and was available in four distinct languages—Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi—that the BJP had broken no pre-election promises about social welfare during its nine years in power.
In an all-out attack on the BJP-led Centre, the Chief Minister said that despite promises, not all residents had their promised deposits of Rs. 15 lakh apiece, that farmer incomes had not doubled, and that promises of two crore employment annually had not materialised.
In reference to the widespread ethnic violence that has been occurring in the state of Manipur since May of this year and the recent communal unrest that broke out in Haryana after a religious procession was attacked, Mr. Stalin stressed that the INDIA coalition must triumph in order to keep the entirety of India from turning into Manipur and Haryana.
Further urging the populace to “carve out a multicultural and diverse India,” MK Stalin claimed that the BJP uses communalism as a smokescreen for issues like the “dismantling and handing over to friendly corporations” of public sector enterprises, the sale of Air India to a private party, and the “handing over to corporations that are close to the BJP” of airports and seaports.
The DMK leader also made reference to the riots in Gujarat in 2002, claiming that the “hatred sown in Gujarat in 2002” has led to sectarian conflict in Manipur and racial confrontations in Haryana in 2023.
According to Mr. Stalin, the India alliance was established to reestablish social justice, social harmony, federalism, secular politics, and socialism. He also offered a dire warning, saying that “nobody can save India if this is not stopped now.”
MK Stalin stated that the DMK has “always been at the forefront whenever there is a threat to federalism.”
The BJP has retaliated, claiming that it is the DMK who cleaves the nation along religious, caste, and linguistic lines.
Narayanan Tirupati, the vice president of the BJP in Tamil Nadu, defended federalism by claiming that the federal government had provided Tamil Nadu its fair share of tax money.
He added he is “glad that at least now MK Stalin accepts India as one nation” in an apparent jab at the DMK.
To draw attention to what MK Stalin refers to as the “destruction of India under BJP,” the podcast “Speaking for India” was created.
The opposition alliance’s goal of creating a “egalitarian and harmonious India,” he claimed, will also be promoted through the podcast.
The launch of MK Stalin’s podcast is a turning point in his political communication strategy and paves the way for a more significant involvement in national politics, especially in directing and forming the INDIA alliance. 38 of the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone seat in nearby Puducherry were won by his ruling DMK alliance, which also won the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
The INDIA coalition declared at its meeting on Friday in Mumbai that they would run in the Lok Sabha elections jointly “as far as possible” in order to defeat the BJP.
In the meeting’s decision, it was decided that the parties would coordinate their media and communications plans and campaigns under the slogan “Judega Bharat, Jeetega India” in many languages.
