Amit Shah's speech in Madurai abominable, divisive and misleading: DMK leader A. Raja
DMK deputy general secretary and the Nilgiris MP, A. Raja, on Monday (June 9, 2025), said the speech of senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Madurai on Sunday was nothing but 'an utter lie, a pledge for divisive politics, and abominable vengeance.'
Speaking to reporters in Chennai, he said it was unbecoming of a Home Minister to forget his position, duty, and responsibility by making baseless allegations aimed at creating communal divisions and inciting unrest in a peaceful State governed by an opposition party, for political gain.
'His speech was abominable and does not augur well for federalism or the smooth relationship between the State and the Centre,' Mr. Raja said, reiterating his belief that the people of Tamil Nadu would not be swayed by Mr. Shah's 'cheap tactics and politically motivated speech.'
Mr. Raja claimed the BJP government at the Centre was unable to digest the development and progress achieved by the DMK government under the leadership of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who has ensured the continuation of welfare schemes and development projects using state funds, as the Centre has failed to allocate funds on time.
'The Centre and the BJP have enacted a shameful drama in violation of political decency because they cannot stomach the State's growth. This does not reflect well on Amit Shah and his position as Union Home Minister. He should stop such political games,' he contended.
Rejecting the suggestion that Mr. Shah's visit to Tamil Nadu had been a 'shock' to the DMK, Mr. Raja said, on the contrary, it was the BJP that felt the shock of the DMK's achievements.
'That is why they sent Mr. Shah to Tamil Nadu. The people of Tamil Nadu have rejected the BJP's communal and divisive politics and stand solidly behind the DMK in all elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Tamil Nadu five times during the previous Lok Sabha polls. His repeated visits show who is afraid of whom,' he said.
Mr. Raja claimed the DMK had fulfilled all its electoral promises except for its assurance to government employees (on restoring old pension scheme). 'But the Chief Minister has constituted a committee to study their demands. We are not afraid of Modi or Amit Shah. Their ideology may win elections elsewhere, but the Dravidian ideology is an antidote to the BJP's ideology. They cannot set foot in Tamil Nadu as long as the Dravidian ideology is alive,' he said.
When asked about the Lord Murugan conference (Murugan maanadu) being planned by the BJP in Madurai (on June 22), he charged that unlike the conference organised by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, the BJP's motive was to incite communal sentiments against minorities.
'The people of Madurai do not accept their motives. Why has Mr. Amit Shah, who ranted about his love for Tamil, not answered why the Centre has not accepted the report on Keeladi (excavation)? Their mindset is against Tamils and the Dravidian ideology, and they will face the consequences in the 2026 Assembly elections. The visits of Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah only strengthened the DMK's prospects,' Mr. Raja felt.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Sanchi brand 'decline' after NDDB merger: Jitu Patwari
HighlightsCongress state unit chief Jitu Patwari has raised concerns about the decline of Madhya Pradesh's flagship dairy brand 'Sanchi' following its merger with the National Dairy Development Board. Patwari reported a drop in milk collection by the Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Dairy Federation, stating that total milk collection from Indore decreased from 94,496 kilograms in 2023-24 to 85,438 kilograms in 2024-25. He urged Union Home and Cooperative Minister Amit Shah to take action to revitalize the 'Sanchi' brand and improve the conditions for milk-producing farmers affected by government neglect. Congress state unit chief Jitu Patwari has written to Union home and cooperative minister Amit Shah, raising alarm over what he termed the rapid decline of the state's flagship dairy brand 'Sanchi' following its merger with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). In a letter to Shah, he said the merger has neither benefited consumers of Sanchi products nor the farmers supplying milk to the MP State Cooperative Dairy Federation. He accused the state govt of neglecting the brand. Patwari wrote at the time of merger, CM Mohan Yadav had announced that the share of MP in overall milk production of the country would be raised from 9 per cent to 20 per cent and "you, too, had given direction to the MP govt to take the target seriously". The Congress leader, however, regretted that it has turned out to be an 'airy' target while the situation on the ground is just the opposite. Patwari claimed that the milk collection by the federation has in fact declined. While the total milk collection from Indore was 94,496 Kg in 2023-24, it reduced to 85,438 Kg in 2024-25. Similarly, the sale of milk has also dipped from 1.56 lakh litre to 1.51 litre. The committees of milk producing farmers also reduced from 385 to 362. The 'Sanchi Parlour' scheme, too, was in a bad shape as 257 applications for setting up a parlour are pending in Indore division itself. Only 57 of them have been accepted and only 31 have opened. In Indore city , 74 applications are pending and only 1 has been accepted. The 'neglect' of Sanchi brand by the govt has "obliquely promoted the private milk brands and they have launched milk and several milk products in the market. It's not only damaging the brand value of 'Sanchi' but also leading to 'exploitation' of milk-producing farmers", he said. Patwari alleged that the milk-producing farmers in place of getting remunerative prices for the milk and becoming economically self-sufficient are being driven into economic crisis due to neglect by the state government and bureaucracy. While stating that as cooperative minister, Shah was supposed to strengthen the cooperative bodies all over the country, Patwari said he should not "mutely see a historic cooperative movement like 'Sanchi' go to ruins". He also suggested steps to the union cooperative minister to improve the 'Sanchi brand including formation of an independent panel to examine the actual state of affairs at MP Milk Federation, disposal of application for setting up of 'Sanchi' parlour all over the state in a time-bound manner, review the role of NDDB in collection of milk, its price determination and its distribution network and make the entire process transparent. Besides, the government should be asked to explain why the milk production is not increasing despite announcement of the chief minister, Patwari said. He urged the union cooperative minister to "save" Sanchi brand from decline in the overall interest of the country's cooperative movement.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
AUT opposes re-employment of preferred teachers in Periyar University
The Association of University Teachers (AUT) Tamil Nadu demanded not to give re-employment to preferred teachers in Periyar University and immediately stop the approval given to an agenda by the past administration of the university. In the 116th meeting of the Syndicate on November 22, 2024, Periyar University granted re-employment for nine months till March 31, 2026, to V.R. Palanivelu, Professor of the Department of Management, who is superannuating on June 14, 2025. The faculty members alleged that this re-employment would incur an additional financial loss to the tune of ₹26.67 lakh to the university in the academic year 2025-26. Re-employment should be given only to the teachers, who are retiring in the middle of an academic year. But the past university administration allegedly gave re-employment to preferred teachers and denied re-employment for a few. AUT general secretary, K. Raja, said that granting re-employment to a few preferred teachers was a violation of the rules. The Registrar in-charge, vide his circular dated April 23, 2025, declared that the university was on vacation from May 3 to June 29 and reopens on June 30, 2025. As per Chapter VIII, Section 12(2) of the University Statutes, full-time teachers of the university shall be entitled to a summer vacation of two months from May 1 to June 30 (both days inclusive) and all gazetted holidays. The university, in its 102nd syndicate meeting held on January 11, 2019, adopted in writing that the academic year of Periyar University is to be from July 1 to April 30, with May and June being the vacation in consonance with the general rule followed by the State universities, Mr. Raja added. Stating that few teachers were denied re-employment at Periyar University, Mr. Raja said N. Rajendhiran, former HoD of Management Studies, was relieved from service, denying re-employment as he attained superannuation in June 2018. This denial was done based upon an earlier denial of re-employment to S. Murugesh, former HoD of Botany, as he attained superannuation in June 2017. As per the resolution of the Syndicate, re-employment was to be granted only to those teachers retiring on or after July 1 of each academic year. Contrasting this, the university granted re-employment (July 1, 2022, to May 2023) to P. Kumaradhas, HoD, Physics, who attained superannuation in June 2022. Not only Mr. Kumaradhas, but also professors S. Anbazhagan and C. Selvaraj were granted re-employment in July 2023 and at the same time, A. Muthusamy, a Mathematics Department professor, was denied re-employment and was relieved from service on June 30, 2024. Now the university granted re-employment for Mr. Palanivelu, who is retiring on June 14, 2025, Mr. Raja added. Stating that teachers who raised their voices against these illegalities were crushed by the university, Mr. Raja said that as assistant professor K. Premkumar, in his capacity as the then general secretary of the Periyar University Teachers' Association, drew the attention of the ex-officio members of the Syndicate to this gross violation for providing re-employment to Mr. Kumaradhas, he was vindictively suspended and subsequently terminated from service. The AUT demands to immediately revoke and annul the vindictive termination of Mr. Premkumar and reinstate him and immediately stop the Syndicate approval granted to the re-employment of Mr. Palanivelu. The Higher Education department should conduct an on-the-spot inquiry into the illegal re-employment granted to professors Kumaradhas, Anbazhagan, and Selvaraj and the denial of the same to professors Rajendhiran and Muthusamy and initiate steps to recover the financial loss of ₹86.42 lakh by granting re-employment to these three professors. Likewise, punitive action should be taken on the perpetrators of these conscious violations, Mr. Raja added.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Why Is The Congress Reluctant To Endorse Tejashwi Yadav As Bihar Poll Nears?
New Delhi: The 2025 Bihar Assembly election is just months away and the main opposition alliance - the Mahagathbandan, which is basically the Congress and the RJD - has its work cut out to defeat the ruling pair of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar 's JDU and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP. With that in mind, the Congress' apparent continuing reluctance to back senior RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav - the son of party patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav and a two-time former Deputy Chief Minister - as the Mahagathbandan chief ministerial candidate has raised eyebrows. Bihar's 'grand alliance' was formed in 2015, more, possibly, out of necessity than claims to ideological unity. In its current avatar - post Nitish Kumar's January 2024 flip-flop, when he dumped the alliance and returned to the BJP's side - the RJD has been the dominant force. That fact has been underlined by the results of the two most recent elections in the state - the 2024 federal election, in which Tejashwi Yadav's party won four seats to the Congress' three, and the 2020 state poll, in which the RJD was the single-largest party with 71 of 243 seats. The Congress - reeling from a string of losses to the BJP in state and federal elections over the past decade - has been relegated to the role of a junior partner, much like in Tamil Nadu, where the party has played second fiddle to Chief Minister MK Stalin's DMK in the past three elections. However, unlike in Tamil Nadu, in Bihar the Congress is trying to break free from the 'junior partner' tag, boosted by senior leader Rahul Gandhi's sustained campaigns across the state. The RJD has made its position clear - Tejashwi Yadav is the party's chief ministerial candidate. Tejashwi Yadav will be the RJD' chief ministerial face in the Bihar election (File). The Congress, the subtext therefore says, can either get with the programme or leave. Does Congress Have Votes To Go Solo? Not really. In the 2020 state election the party contested 70 seats and won just 19. The RJD contested 144 and won 75. The alliance lost the election by 12 seats. The hugely disparate conversion rates - 27 per cent to 52 per cent - have often been red-flagged by the state party as a big reason for that narrow loss. The Congress, though, has argued its candidates were "set up to fail" and blamed the RJD for not extending grassroots support and allotting 'difficult-to-win' seats to the larger party. And it wants 'respectable and winnable' seats this time to remain allied, sources said. The situation, i.e., the disparity in performance between the two parties, was evident in last year's federal election too, in which 40 parliamentary seats were in play. The Mahagathbandan was trounced - it won nine seats, campaigning as the INDIA bloc, to the BJP-led NDA's 30. The RJD won four and polled over 22 per cent of the votes. The Congress got three and only nine per cent of the votes. This has led to RJD expressing frustration at the Congress' 'overestimation' of its strength. Nevertheless, the Congress reportedly remains insistent it can contest this election on its own, and its unwillingness, at this time, to back the RJD, indicates it wants to do just that. As an aside, the Congress' inability to play nicely with state/regional parties has made headlines over the past few years, and has often played its part in a big BJP win. A good example of this is the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Assembly election and the spat with Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party over six of the state's 230 seats. The Congress' subsequent defeat provoked caustic comments from other allies about not working with friendly parties. Can Congress Win Without RJD? The Congress reportedly has reservations over what it sees as a 'one-dimensional' campaign of the RJD, which is based on caste factors and, particularly, the Muslim-Yadav base. It wants to broaden the Mahagathbandan's appeal and project a more modern and inclusive image, which is why Rahul Gandhi has made frequent trips - seven in the last six months - to Bihar, with the focus on Dalits and issues of importance to the community. The Congress believes Rahul Gandhi's visits to Bihar will help it get more votes (File). But this has made the RJD anxious, since it is seen as poaching its voter base. Congress leaders in Bihar have also argued they need to contest on issues important to the party as a whole, such as employment, education, and secularism, and so attract urban voters who feel alienated from both the RJD's caste politics and BJP's Hindutva focus. A Mahjong Effect? The Congress, meanwhile, is also aware that it cannot be seen as too accepting of a junior role, of scraps in seats and at the decision-making table, since this weakens its position when negotiating with other state allies, including the DMK in Tamil Nadu. The refusal, so far, to endorse Tejashwi Yadav may therefore also be a strategic signal to allies - that the Congress is unwilling to play an increasingly weak second fiddle. So, what can the Congress do now? Either agree, again, to be the RJD's junior partner or bargain hard, knowing that this might leave the opposition alliance in tatters, and give the JDU-BJP a big boost, months before voting. And all of this does not factor in the role of Left parties that are part of the Mahagathbandan alliance. These have, so far, remained silent. They are not seen as having any objection to Tejashwi Yadav as the Chief Minister, but they are watching the Congress' moves closely. If the Congress decides to break free from the RDJ's 'shackles', it might find support from smaller parties, including the Left, unhappy with both the RJD and the BJP (and JDU).
