Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, campaigning in Ponneri, said the current AIADMK was only a “mask” and alleged it was being used to hide the BJP’s “real face”. He claimed that AIADMK, as an independent force, no longer existed in Tamil Nadu.
In his speech, Rahul Gandhi said addressing meetings in Tamil Nadu was a matter of pride for him and spoke of his affection for the Tamil language and the people of the state. He also noted that he did not mention Chief Minister M.K. Stalin by name at any point during the address.
Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP and RSS of attacking Tamil language, culture and the state’s interests, and said attempts were made to reduce Tamil Nadu’s representation through a constituency delimitation proposal, which he said did not go through. He argued that every state had the right to protect its language and culture and said he would not allow efforts to “erase” Tamil identity.
He further alleged that the BJP had “finished” the AIADMK and said the Congress had never used investigative agencies to threaten alliance partners. He urged voters to support the Congress-DMK alliance and its partners, alleging that the BJP leadership wanted to govern Tamil Nadu from Delhi.
Earlier, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said the DMK-Congress alliance had a four-decade tradition and accused the BJP of sidelining mother tongues and trying to impose Hindi. He thanked Stalin for proposing Rahul Gandhi as a prime ministerial candidate and said the INDIA alliance represented the country’s future, predicting a strong victory for the DMK-led front.
