MDMK general secretary Vaiko on Wednesday said he had chosen to join hands with the Congress despite differences with the party on the Sri Lankan issue because the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi posed a greater threat to the nation.
“The BJP government has undermined Indian democracy and secularism and deprived State governments of their rights. It seeks to destroy the principles of the Dravidian movement and establish Hindutva politics,” he told journalists after releasing the MDMK poll manifesto. The party is contesting in Erode constituency as part of the DMK alliance.
‘Anti-Modi wave’
Asked if there was a wave in favour of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi just as the country witnessed the pro-Modi wave in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Mr. Vaiko said an anti-Modi wave was sweeping the country.
He said Mr. Gandhi had shaped up as a mature leader and the way he responded to the questions of students at Stella Maris College had proved his calibre.
“In the public meeting in Nagercoil, he came across as a leader who had understood the feelings of the Tamil people. He has assimilated Jawaharlal Nehru’s writings of Tamils and Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Vaiko contended.
Asked whether the Congress would agree with his party’s demand for lifting of the ban on the LTTE, he said it was the stand of the MDMK.
The manifesto also made a strong case for abolition of capital punishment, release of seven convicts in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and a referendum among the Sri Lankan Tamils to decide their future.
