Annamalai counters Stalin’s remarks on Modi

BJP TN Pres. Annamalai counters Stalin's corruption remarks, citing CAG report on cost escalations, not corruption.

BJP Tamil Nadu president K. Annamalai on Sunday countered Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s remarks that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had no moral right to speak about corruption in the wake of alleged irregularities in Central government projects and schemes, flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in its report.

In a statement, he said the CAG report had only mentioned cost escalations in construction of highways and not about corruption. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had said road projects in Tamil Nadu were delayed due to hurdles in procuring input materials and had requested the State government to control the price rise of the materials.

Mr. Stalin should explain how corruption can happen in collection of toll at toll plazas, Mr. Annamalai said. Claiming that DMK councillors and MLAs were demanding money from the Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner for conducting events in Corporation parks, he asked “if they were collecting money at toll plazas too?” On the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, Mr. Annamalai said the Centre had upgraded technology to ensure beneficiaries are not linked to a single phone number. The onus is now on the State governments to fix fake accounts under the scheme. The people have not forgotten about the CAG report on the 2G scam (in which all the accused were acquitted by the trial court), he said, adding that the DMK was “corrupt”.