CPI State secretary R. Mutharasan on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi neither had the moral right nor the competency to seek votes from the people of Tamil Nadu for the 2024 Lok Sabha election as the Central government had done nothing for them.
Besides, with the resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel without any explanation from him or the government, and the Election Commission having just the Chief Election Commissioner now, there is a fear whether the upcoming election would be held in a democratic manner, he said.
Addressing journalists here, he said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had, in 2020, participated in a function to lay the foundation for the second phase of the Chennai Metro Rail project. However, the Centre did not give any funds for it. He further said that nine districts of the State had been affected by the rain last year, and despite repeated representations for relief, the Centre did not allocate anything.
The Sri Lankan government has imprisoned three Rameswaram fishermen and seized 143 boats from the State so far. The Centre, however, has not taken any steps to secure their release, Mr. Mutharasan said.
He further said that in Tamil Nadu, seven National Textile Corporation mills had remained shut since 2020 and textile industry, including handlooms, was crippled. Moreover, the government press that was operational in Coimbatore was also closed. Hence, Mr. Modi is incompetent, he contended.
The DMK-led INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu has completed seat-sharing talks amicably and will announce the constituencies to be contested by the parties also in a day or two.
In all his speeches in the campaign, Mr. Modi speaks largely about corruption, but in the electoral bonds, 60% of the benefits went to the BJP. The State Bank of India, which is under the control of the Centre, has sought time till June to share bond details. “The Modi government is doing this to cover up the illegal money received through the bonds,” he said, adding that the Prime Minister’s friends were not farmers or workers, but people such as Ambani, Adani, and Nirav Modi.
