NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party and the AIADMK during a poll rally in Tamil Nadu, alleging that the regional party had been hollowed out from within by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while accusing the Centre of targeting the state’s identity, language and culture.Addressing a rally at Ponneri, Rahul Gandhi said there was little left of the AIADMK as an independent political force and claimed it had effectively been taken over by the BJP.Rahul Gandhi said, “No force on this planet can touch Tamil Nadu or Tamil language.”“AIADMK ‘eaten up’ from inside by PM Modi, HM Shah,” Rahul Gandhi said, adding that the present AIADMK was no longer what it once was.“‘New AIADMK just a mask; the mask hiding BJP,'” he alleged.He sharpened the attack further by claiming the BJP had dismantled the party’s original identity.“At poll rally in TN, Rahul Gandhi alleges BJP ‘destroyed’ AIADMK; ‘there is nothing known as AIADMK now’.”Rahul Gandhi also used the rally to strongly defend Tamil language and culture, saying the state held a special place in his life and political journey.“Tamil not ordinary language, it is thousands of years of your experience, memories,” he said.He said he had built a close relationship with Tamil Nadu over the years.“Naturally over years, I have developed relationship with TN,” Rahul Gandhi said while addressing the gathering.Drawing a comparison with another region he has often spoken about emotionally, he added: “When in Jammu and Kashmir, I feel I have come home; likewise I feel attached to TN.”Rahul Gandhi said attacks by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and BJP on Tamil Nadu made him feel personally connected to the state’s struggle.“When I see RSS, BJP trying to attack TN, Tamil language, culture, I feel as if I am Tamil,” he said.The Congress leader also accused the BJP-led Centre of using legislation to advance hidden political agendas, citing the recent controversy around delimitation.“‘We defeated in Parliament, Bill in which delimitation was hidden; we defeated it to defend idea of India,” says Rahul Gandhi at TN rally.He also targeted the government over the women’s reservation issue, alleging that a recently introduced Bill was politically misleading.“BJP-led Centre brought new Bill on Apr 16, said they were trying to pass women’s bill, but it was passed in 2023,” Rahul Gandhi said in Tamil Nadu.Rahul Gandhi contrasted Congress alliances with what he called the BJP’s coercive style of politics, saying his party treats coalition partners with respect.“Cong regards its partners as equals; never tried to crush them using intel agencies,” he said at the rally.He also attacked the BJP’s economic policies, alleging that the party was promoting concentration of wealth and corporate dominance.“TN: Slamming BJP, Rahul Gandhi alleges, ‘they want an India where 2 or 3 companies control everything.'”The remarks come as political parties intensify campaigning ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, where the Congress is aligned with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in its bid to challenge the BJP and its allies in the state.
