Prime Minister Narendra Modi with NDA leaders during a public meeting ahead of Lok Sabha elections, in Salem, Tuesday, March 19, 2024.
Credit: PTI photo
Chennai: Latching on to Rahul Gandhi’s ‘shakti’ remark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused I.N.D.I.A. bloc partners, especially Congress and DMK, of “repeatedly and deliberately” insulting Hinduism, alleging that these parties don’t even “utter a single” word against any other faith.
Addressing a rally in Salem in western Tamil Nadu with leaders of alliance partners, including expelled AIADMK leaders O Panneerselvam and T T V Dhinakaran, and PMK founder S Ramadoss in rapt attention, Modi tore into the Congress and DMK for demeaning women and using them as mere vote bank.
Starting his speech by paying tributes to BJP functionary ‘Auditor’ V Ramesh, who was hacked to death by fundamentalists in 2013, Modi thanked the PMK, an influential party in the northern region of the state, for joining the BJP-led alliance, asserting that the saffron party’s performance in Tamil Nadu will “stun” the I.N.D.I.A. bloc.
Modi targeted the DMK and Congress but remained mum on the AIADMK, which snapped ties with the BJP last year. Salem is a stronghold of the AIADMK and is where Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami resides.
Modi also said the DMK has gone “sleepless” after seeing the reception he has been getting in Tamil Nadu during his frequent visits to the state. “The support that is being received by the BJP in Tamil Nadu is the talk of the town. People are enthusiastic about the BJP, which is troubling them (DMK-Congress),” Modi added.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s ‘shakti’ remark, Modi said it has become a habit for leaders from the Congress and DMK to insult Hinduism. Shakti is manifested in many deities like Samayapuram Mariamman, Madurai Meenakshi, and Kanchipuram Kamakshi, who are revered by the people of Tamil Nadu.
“…the INDI alliance of Congress and DMK is saying that it will destroy shakti. Their election campaign has just started, and their plans have been revealed in their very first rally. Their statement is a sheer insult to the Hindu religion, and Hindu faith,” Modi said.
“The INDI alliance of DMK and Congress does not insult any other religion. It does not utter a single word against any other religion. However, when it comes to the Hindu religion, they don't leave any chance to abuse and insult it,” the Prime Minister added.
He said scriptures bear witness to the fact that destruction happens to those who think of destroying power. “Tamil Nadu will be the first to start defeating such dangerous ideas on April 19,” he added.
At the same breath, Modi branded the DMK as “anti-women,” asking the people of Tamil Nadu to remember how the party treated late J Jayalalithaa when she was alive, in an attempt to reach out to the voters of the AIADMK.
This was the Prime Minister’s seventh visit to Tamil Nadu since January this year as the BJP makes a concerted effort to make inroads into the politically crucial southern state. On Monday, Modi held his first road show in Tamil Nadu in Coimbatore during which he also paid tributes to victims of the 1998 serial bombings.