Stalin accuses BJP of siding with ‘corrupt’ AIADMK

Chennai, Mar 01 (PTI):
DMK leader MK Stalin on Monday sought to make light of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s allegation of corruption against his party, saying it was the BJP that “stands by corruption” by aligning with the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu.
Ridiculing Stalin for speaking on corruption issues, Shah had at a rally in Villupuram on Sunday asked him to “look within,” asking “who did the 2G (spectrum allocation) scam” in which party MPs Kanimozhi and A Raja are accused. The DMK was part of the Congress-led government when the lead party did “Rs 12 lakh crore” worth scams, he had said.
On Monday, Stalin told reporters that earlier Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier spoken on similar lines, “now Amit Shah has spoken and all BJP leaders coming from the Centre will only say the same thing.”
“They held the hands of OPS (Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam) and EPS (CM K Palaniswami), who are steeped in corruption, commission and collection. That shows who stands by corruption,” he said in an apparent reference to Modi holding the hands of the two leaders at a government function here last month.
“Corruption, commission, collection” is an oft repeated statement by Stalin to target the ruling AIADMK over graft charges.
Further, Stalin said seat-sharing talks in the DMK-led alliance have commenced from Sunday while the party manifesto was also getting ready.
A ‘special’ meeting will be held on March 7 at Tiruchirappalli by the party where he will release a 10-year “vision document” to make Tamil Nadu numero uno in all sectors in a decade, Stalin said. DMK President MK Stalin on Monday turned 68, with a host of leaders including Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi and Kamal Haasan extending their birthday greetings to the Tamil Nadu Leader of Opposition. “A very happy birthday to DMK President Shri MK Stalin. Wishing you good health and much happiness,” Gandhi said in tweet.
The DMK launched a campaign song coinciding with its chief’s birthday, ahead of the April 6 Assembly elections in the state, which the party is keen to win and return to power after a gap of a decade.