Nanguneri (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 20 : Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that the BJP is using their alliance partner AIADMK to "attack" the identity of Tamil Nadu.
Rahul Gandhi alleged that AIADMK has been "compromised in the hands of the BJP" and is no longer the party that once protected the identity of Tamil Nadu.
"In this election, they are trying to infiltrate the Tamil Nadu... AIADMK has had great leaders who have protected the idea of Tamil Nadu, but today's leaders are not like previous leaders. They are now compromised in the hands of the BJP," he said.
"BJP cannot directly harm you, so they have their partner AIADMK to attack your identity, history, and language. We are protecting Tamil culture, history, language, and traditions," he added.
Cornering BJP on the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill that aimed to increase the Lok Sabha seats, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the move came to reduce the representation of South and Northeast India, calling it an "attack on the idea of union of India."
"Just a few days ago in parliament, they attacked our constitution. They claimed to be passing the women's reservation bill, but behind that, the attempt was to change the electoral map; they were trying to reduce the representation of South and Northeast India... they were attacking the idea of the union of India, and that's why we defeated them. Any attempt of this type will be defeated again and again," he said.
Clarifying Congress's position on women's reservation, the Congress MP said, "If they want to pass the women's bill, that is already done. That bill does now try to change the electoral map. While passing that bill, the BJP said that this would be implemented in 10 years. We insisted on implementing immediately. Implement that right now, and all opposition will support you."
He emphasised that to "stop" RSS and BJP, who, he said, "spread hatred," is the most important goal of the elections.
"The most important part of this election is to stop RSS and BJP from entering Tamil Nadu. I travelled from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. BJP spread hatred, they built an unequal India. They threatened our minority brothers and sisters," he said.
Tamil Nadu Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in a single phase on April 23, with the counting of votes scheduled for May 4. The main contest is expected between the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance and the NDA led by AIADMK, with the BJP and PMK as allies.