States lost rights in BJP rule; governing through governors is against Constitution: CM Stalin

Chennai: A decade of BJP rule at the Centre has led to states losing their rights, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin claimed on Thursday and said that a new government piloted by the INDIA bloc, which he believed would be in power after the Lok Sabha election this year, would respect state autonomy.

He also pointed to the "authoritarian tendency" to run the government through governors and not by an administration elected by the people, saying it was against states' interests as well as violative of the Constitution of India.

"Ten years of BJP rule at the Centre has made many states lose their rights. The Centre continues to usurp the rights of the states on education, language, finance, and judiciary. The authoritarian tendency to run the government with appointed governors as opposed to a government elected by the people is not only against the states but also the Constitution of India," Stalin who is the president of the ruling DMK said.

In an epistle to party workers ahead of the DMK youth wing's second state conference in Salem on January 21, Stalin said the country is witnessing a political low because of governors "who are not at all worthy" of the lofty responsibilities bestowed upon them.

He said the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has the strength to democratically defeat the outrageous politics that the BJP leaders were promoting, especially inciting religious hatred, destroying the mother tongue Tamil by imposing Hindi and Sanskrit and saffronising everyone including Tamil savant Thiruvalluvar.

The DMK youth wing's second state conference has the urgent need to take these issues forward to all the states, he said.

Recalling his government's gesture of providing Rs 1,000 cash gift besides one kg of rice, a kilo of sugar, and a whole sugarcane to all family ration cardholders in the state to celebrate Pongal (harvest festival), Stalin claimed the DMK ensured this annual festival was celebrated with the participation of the members of other faiths, thus making it a Samathuva (egalitarian) Pongal.

The government brought smiles to the faces of weavers by procuring dhotis and sarees from them and distributing them to the poor free of cost for Pongal, he added.

"I enjoyed celebrating Samathuva Pongal surrounded by people of different religions and languages in my Kolathur constituency," he said. This egalitarian approach is the cornerstone of the Dravidian model of governance in Tamil Nadu and this is needed for the entire country, the chief minister added.

Stalin recalled his successful stint as DMK youth wing secretary (for over 30 years) and said the wing's first state conference was held in Tirunelveli in 2007. With the 2024 parliamentary elections around the corner, the second state conference at Salem will be a training ground to gear up the youth for the polls, he said. "So, make this a historic event for the country," he urged.

Ahead of the conference, his son and state Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stain flagged off a torch relay.