Have ties with Centre like MK did: BJP to Stalin

Have ties with Centre like MK did: BJP to Stalin

Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com

Chennai:03.06.2021

If chief minister M K Stalin and his cabinet colleagues follow former DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s policy of maintaining cordial relations with the Centre, it would benefit the state, said BJP Tamil Nadu president L Murugan on Wednesday.

Murugan said in a statement that Karunanidhi followed the policy of maintaining good relations with the Centre whenever he was in power in the state, because it helped in the state’s growth.

The present DMK government, especially state finance minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan was deviating from that path, he said. Murugan lashed out at Thiagarajan for his view expressed in the GST council meeting that there would be no union without the states. The minister said the Centre should not act like a begrudging donor. Murugan said Thiagarajan’s comments were “childish”.

The BJP leader urged Stalin to advise his ministers to avoid confrontation with the Centre. “They should be focusing on the welfare of the people. This is not the time to do petty politicking,” said Murugan.

Reacting to Stalin’s statement that the failure of the previous AIADMK government in controlling the first wave of Covid had led to the second wave wreaking havoc in Tamil Nadu, Murugan said Stalin and his party colleagues should take the responsibility for creating scare among the people about the vaccines when they were in the opposition. It resulted in vaccine hesitancy among the people. If more people had come forward to take vaccination, the pandemic could have been controlled in Tamil Nadu, said Murugan.

Stalin should ask himself whether he functioned as a responsible opposition leader then, said Murugan.