Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai on July 5 drew parallels between Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, where the rebellion of the Eknath Shinde camp led to the collapse of the former Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and the formation of the new government. He said that a similar thing will happen in the southern state.
“Eknath Shinde emerged out of Shiv Sena, he followed ‘raj dharma’. It will happen in Tamil Nadu too…We (Tamil Nadu BJP) will get 25 MPs in the Lok Sabha polls, which is equal to 150 MLAs in the Assembly polls in the state,” Annamalai said.
Drawing out similarities, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said that Karunanidhi’s elder son Muthu planned to act in movies but it didn’t work. His other son Azhagiri is out of the party like the Thackeray family, Annamalai said, adding, “His third son Stalin became CM, like his (Balahsaheb Thackeray’s) son in Maharashtra.”
“Stalin’s son acted in films, as it is happening in Maharashtra too. This is history in front of us (in Tamil Nadu),” Annamalai added.
Eknath Shinde rebelled against the Sena leadership with at least 39 Shiv Sena MLAs which led to the collapse of the former Thackeray-led MVA government last week. After Thackeray resigned as Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde took over the top position and Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.
Fuel prices are lower in Puducherry than in TN, claims BJP
Earlier in the day, Annamalai accused the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party in Tamil Nadu of providing hardly any relief to consumers with regard to fuel price reduction. He claimed that fuel prices are lower in neighbouring Puducherry than in Tamil Nadu by at least Rs 6 to 8 per litre.
The BJP leader said that petrol and diesel in Tamil Nadu cost Rs 102.71 a litre and Rs 94 respectively, whereas petrol is sold for Rs 96 and diesel for Rs 86 per litre in Puducherry.
“My house is in Uthandi (in Tamil Nadu), which is about an hour’s drive from Puducherry. Consumers in the Union Territory pay less whereas those in Tamil Nadu continue to pay more for the same commodity,” he claimed.
“We are not asking you to do the impossible. Do honour your promise of reducing the petrol and diesel prices by Rs 5 and Rs 4 per litre,” the Tamil Nadu BJP president appealed.
