Chennai: Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of disregarding states, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said on Thursday that unlike his predecessors, Modi viewed states merely as municipalities. Stalin further said that the prime minister neither appreciates the existence of states nor values chief ministers.
In a virtual address, that was played before the audience at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, where Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan led a protest against the Centre’s “crippling financial embargo”, Stalin said though Modi was earlier chief minister of Gujarat, the first thing he did after assuming office as prime minister was to snatch the rights of the states.
“He snatched the education rights, language rights and rights in terms of law,” he charged. Depriving States of their right over finances “is akin to stopping the oxygen” and this is what the BJP-ruled Centre was doing, he said.
Stalin called upon the constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc to unite and “take over” the Government of India “to put an end to the fascist BJP” and create an India, which respects all states equally.
“All the States have been facing massive crunch in finances since the imposition of the GST regime”, he said accusing the Centre of creating obstacles for the States from borrowing loans to implement development measures.
The DMK leader also cautioned Chief Minister of BJP-ruled States that they should not think it is happening to States that are ruled by the Opposition parties. “I am warning you that this will be the fate of your States tomorrow,” Stalin said.
