Kamal Ghorui
VILLUPURAM: Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin described the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as the “No Development Alliance.” Campaigning for the INDIA bloc candidates in Villupuram on Wednesday, he accused the BJP-led coalition of a “systematic history of betrayals”, aimed at erasing the cultural identity of Tamil Nadu.Stalin argued that the NDA is not an alliance for progress but a “pact of traitors” formed to execute new injustices against the state. He detailed a decade-long timeline of policies that he claimed were detrimental to the people of Tamil Nadu. He slammed the opposition for allowing the Neet, which he called a “death trap” for Tamil Nadu’s students. He accused the previous AIADMK govt of “acting out a drama” by hiding the fact that the Union govt had returned the anti-NEET bill for over a year without informing the state assembly.He highlighted the signing of the Uday scheme, which led to electricity price hikes, and the support for the now-repealed three farm laws. “They didn’t just pass laws; they insulted the farmers who protested against them,” Stalin remarked. He accused the NDA of “destroying” the 100-day rural employment scheme (MGNREGA), thereby stripping the rural poor of their daily livelihood.“We proudly say Keeladi is the mother-cradle of Tamils, but they tried to bury the excavations deep in the earth,” he alleged, accusing the Union govt of neglecting Tamil heritage while disproportionately funding Hindi and Sanskrit. “If you want to understand what NDA stands for in simple terms,” Stalin told the crowd, “it is N – No; D – Development; A – Alliance.”He further alleged that the alliance is actively working to suppress the rights of minorities through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Wakf Amendment Act, and the recent FCRA regulations, which he claimed are being used to “threaten and seize the properties” of the Christian community. He pointed to the stalling of major infrastructure projects as proof of the Union govt’s “step-motherly” treatment. He said the Union govt delayed funds for the Chennai Metro expansion. Similarly, the grants from the Union govt for state education were being withheld to force the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) and its “three-language formula,” which the Tamil Nadu govt vowed to resist in favour of Tamil Nadu’s long-standing two-language policy.Stalin urged the electorate to recognise the “dual-faced” nature of the AIADMK-BJP partnership. “They think they can stop the growth of the Dravidian model through these betrayals. They are wrong. On election day, the people will show them that Tamil Nadu only votes for development, dignity, and the rising sun, he said.”
