Tamil Nadu must be ruled from Fort St George, not Delhi: Stalin

Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Wednesday said the forthcoming assembly election would be a fight between Tamil Nadu and the NDA and asserted that the state must be governed from Chennai and not from Delhi. "Tamil Nadu must be ruled from Fort St. George," he said while addressing an event held to distribute welfare assistance to beneficiaries in Nagercoil. "A situation in which it is ruled from Delhi should not arise. This election is meant to decide that." He also characterised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to the state as politically motivated but said that the more the PM visits Tamil Nadu the greater would be the margin by which the NDA loses the election. "As it is election season, the PM will be visiting Tamil Nadu more frequently, and he has already begun doing so," Stalin said, adding that those in the alliance too were anxious about his visits. The chief minister further said that the people of Tamil Nadu would remember that the PM had done nothing for the state.

"Even yesterday (Tuesday), the cabinet approved a metro rail project for Gujarat, but nothing for Tamil Nadu. Even with the elections approaching, nothing was allocated in the budget either," Stalin said. Speaking about the AIADMK-BJP alliance, he said the latter "is relying on a substandard engine called the BJP, and BJP is relying on a sinking ship called AIADMK".