Tiruchirappalli

DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday alleged that if the NDA assumed power in the state, they will not hesitate to even change Tamil Nadu's name into Dakshina Pradesh.

Addressing a public meeting here for the April 23 polls, Stalin said the entire state must rally against the AIADMK-BJP combine to halt such an eventuality and slammed the main opposition AIADMK as having "bloodstains of those killed in protests opposing the CAA."

The AIADMK supported the CAA in the Rajya Sabha, enabling its passage, along with the PMK and when protests erupted against that amendment, "thousands were attacked," and around 70 people were killed, the CM alleged and claimed that "their bloodstain is on the hands of the AIADMK."

Palaniswami later dismissed concerns over the amendment by asking which Muslim had been affected. Yet during the 2024 LS election, when AIADMK faced polls all alone, the AIADMK chief reversed his stance and criticised the CAA as a historical mistake. "Now, does he support or oppose it?" the DMK chief asked.

The Leader of Opposition's "betrayals" did not end there, as he had backed the three farm laws, "insulting" farmers from eight states who protested against the laws, calling ryots "brokers." Stalin alleged that Palaniswami has fully transformed into a "Sanghi" (RSS man) by allying with the BJP.

Palaniswami claims there are no issues in the AIADMK alliance, yet he made multiple trips to Delhi, waiting for several hours for an appointment with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, changing cars and hiding his face, the CM claimed.

Stalin alleged: "Palaniswami says AIADMK leads the alliance, yet smaller parties are contesting on the BJP symbol, not AIADMK's. Has Modi ever called Palaniswami a CM candidate? He only speaks of an NDA government, not even mentioning AIADMK by name."

When DMK says the 2026 Assembly poll is a fight of "Tamil Nadu vs NDA, Tamil Nadu vs Delhi," Palaniswami, in order to attack DMK, wonders if this was an election happening in Delhi. The truth is, he has mortgaged his entire party to the BJP to escape "corruption charges" and raids at his relatives' homes.

Alleging that the BJP-led Centre did not sanction schemes for the state, which includes denial of nod for Hosur airport and putting education funds on hold, Stalin said despite all these injustices, PM Modi visits Tamil Nadu for the upcoming Assembly polls.

He visited Tiruchirappalli recently, but could not list any project for Tamil Nadu sanctioned by the BJP-led union government as nothing was done.

Stalin said: "PM makes a general claim that the DMK has not fulfilled its promises, yet I explain each achievement with data. Many beneficiaries of our schemes regularly share their experiences through the media. Even if the Prime Minister, who is always on tour-mode, had asked the people, they would have listed the Dravidian model schemes one by one. Either he lacks the time to learn about Tamil Nadu, or he has no interest in understanding it."

The DMK chief requested PM Modi to stay in Tamil Nadu for a week and see for himself how it excels.

He said TN has the highest number of women in the workforce among all Indian states. Alleged atrocities reported in BJP-ruled states do not happen in TN.

The CM added that instead of speaking about ensuring women's safety in Tamil Nadu, the PM should address those issues in the states ruled by his party. NDA speaking ill of Tamil Nadu is only aimed to hinder the state's development and sabotage its progress.

He appealed: "For Tamil Nadu's progress and development to continue, our Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government must come to power for the seventh time, and the Dravidian model must continue. If the BJP and its subservient alliance come to power, its evils will be beyond our imagination. Tamil Nadu must remain Tamil Nadu. It must not turn into a land of violence like Uttar Pradesh or Manipur."

Stalin claimed that "if they come to power, they will not hesitate to even change Tamil Nadu's name to Dakshin Pradesh".

To prevent this, the entire Tamil Nadu must unite as one front against the BJP-AIADMK alliance.

"We must defeat our enemies and the proxies of the BJP... before the BJP's dummy engine, our Dravidian model's super-fast engine will never bow its head," the DMK chief said.

Recently, an incident in Madurai served as a trailer for what would happen if they came to power. Palaniswami, lacking self-respect, removed Periyar's portrait from the entrance of a meeting when the BJP demanded it.

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At the same event, a video insulting Periyar and Anna was played, which three former AIADMK ministers watched without protest, the CM alleged.

"If MGR or Jayalalithaa were around, would they have tolerated such an insult to Anna? Palaniswami's only achievement is degrading AIADMK into a servile group. The term Dravidian itself was insulted at that gathering, and AIADMK leaders did nothing to stop it," the DMK president claimed in his address delivered at the public meeting.