Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday said he believed that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is only a precursor and the BJP will bring laws in the future to target people 'speaking different languages in each state'.
Referring to BJP's 'India shining' campaign ahead of the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, Stalin said surveys at that time too had predicted a pro-BJP wave; also, the opposition was criticised for not being united. "However, the election results were in favour of the UPA, and the government continued for the next 10 years. The results of the 2024 election will replicate 2004. History will repeat itself," he said.
This was the chief minister's answer, in an interview to Chennai-based English daily DT Next (March 17), when he was asked about I.N.D.I.A. bloc's electoral prospects in the Hindi heartland.
Asked about the Centre notifying rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and whether it was BJP's 'secret weapon', the chief minister said the CAA is a part of the saffron party's divisive politics. He added that it might appear only to be against minorities now, "but in future, the BJP will bring new laws targeting people speaking different languages in each state. CAA is only a precursor to it."
When asked in the interview if the DMK has lost leverage on the electoral bonds issue since the party is also one of the beneficiaries of the now scrapped scheme and the BJP is citing it to 'deflect criticism', Stalin said: "The credentials of the BJP, which has been blaming DMK and other parties, and whom it pressured to mobilise election funds are worth examining. The BJP has been caught red-handed."
The DMK has been mobilising election funds since it faced its first election (1957). DMK founder CN Annadurai set a target of Rs 10 lakh during the 1967 elections. "Kalaignar (late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi) collected Rs 11 lakh then. It is usual for the DMK to collect funds and properly audit such collected funds. We have collected funds through electoral bonds in the same transparent manner," Stalin added.