BJP leader Subramanian Swamy does not always toe the party line. Over the last few months, the Rajya Sabha MP has repeatedly made headlines with his criticism of the Narendra Modi led administration. He has put forth differing stances on several topics - be it the conducting of NEET and JEE exams or India's ongoing rift with China.
Now, as the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections draw closer, Swamy appears to be focusing on a new issue. In a tweet on Monday, the BJP leader hit out at his own party over their choice of candidates as well as the critical stance taken by their ally on the Citizenship Amendment Act.
For the uninitiated, the BJP is in a political alliance with the AIADMK and the PMK in Tamil Nadu. The party hopes to secure a foothold in the state and become a part of the ruling coalition after the election. The BJP is fielding prominent figures and senior party leaders including state chief L. Murugan, former national secretary of the party H. Raja and actor turned politician Kushbhu Sundar.
But everything is not going in its favour. Many of the candidates are individuals who have defected to the BJP from other parties - a fact that has raised many an eyebrow. At the same time, the AIADMK has not helped matters with their manifesto including a promise to urge the Centre to scrap the CAA.
"Shape of BJP to come: In TN election, of the 20 candidates, 18 of them are candidates who defected from other parties with no past connection with RSS, or Jana Sangh vintage. In meantime, AIADMK has stated in their Manifesto that it will scrap CAA," Swamy tweeted on Monday.
It must be noted that the BJP has not reacted well to the AIADMK manifesto, with leaders insisting that the CAA will not be repealed. The populist manifesto also promised houses free of cost to people, Rs 7,500 annual subsidy to farmers, free solar cooking stoves and washing machines. Educational loan waiver,government jobs to families without anyone in state service and many more sops were announced.
