Coimbatore: Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and the ruling DMK, alleging widespread corruption and a deliberate misinformation campaign over the Centre’s fund allocation and the delimitation process.

Speaking at a BJP event on Wednesday, Shah accused DMK leaders of excelling in corruption, stating, “All the leaders of DMK have got a Master’s degree in corruption. One leader is involved in a cash-for-job scam, another in a money laundering case, a third in a disproportionate assets case, a fourth in a coal scam, and the fifth was involved in the ₹6,000 crore CRIDP scam. It seems the DMK has selected the corrupt through the party’s membership drive.”

Shah refutes Stalin’s fund allocation claims

Shah dismissed Stalin’s claims that the Centre had withheld funds from Tamil Nadu, asserting that the Narendra Modi government had allocated ₹5,08,337 lakh crore to the state between 2014 and 2024. In contrast, he said, the previous UPA regime, in which DMK was a coalition partner, had granted only ₹1.52 lakh crore between 2004 and 2014.

“Answer my questions before the people,” Shah challenged Stalin. “The Modi government has given Tamil Nadu more than ₹5 lakh crore. Yet, you accuse us of injustice. The real injustice was done under the UPA, when your party was part of the government.”

Additionally, he said, the Centre had provided ₹1.43 lakh crore for the state’s infrastructure development.

Shah accuses stalin of misinformation

Shah also hit out at Stalin’s stance on delimitation, accusing the DMK leader of misleading the public. Stalin has claimed that Tamil Nadu stands to lose eight of its 39 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming delimitation process due to its success in implementing the family planning programme. The Tamil Nadu government has convened an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss the issue.

However, Shah asserted that no southern state, including Tamil Nadu, would lose parliamentary seats when delimitation takes place. “The Modi government has made it clear in Parliament that no state in the south will lose even one seat after delimitation. The interests of the southern people will be protected,” he said.

Delimitation, as per the Election Commission of India, is the process of defining the boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country with a legislative body. It is conducted by a high-powered body known as the Delimitation Commission. India has had four such commissions in 1952, 1963, 1973, and 2002. The next delimitation is due after 2026.

‘Anti-national tendency at an all-time high’

Lashing out at the ruling DMK on law and order, Shah alleged that Tamil Nadu had become a hub for drug and illegal mining mafias under its governance. He also criticised the DMK government for providing security during the last rites of 1998 Coimbatore bomb blast convict SA Basha.

“The anti-national tendency is at an all-time high in Tamil Nadu,” Shah claimed. He also raised concerns over student safety, stating that girl students were unsafe in universities and that some college students had even been killed for opposing the sale of illicit liquor.

Shah expressed confidence that the NDA would form the next government in Tamil Nadu, predicting a victory bigger than the coalition’s successes in Maharashtra and Haryana.

The Home Minister was in Chennai to inaugurate BJP party offices in Tiruvannamalai and Ramanathapuram. Senior BJP leaders, including general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh, Union Minister L Murugan, and Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai, were present at the event.

(With inputs from PTI)