By India Today News Desk: Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai, while speaking on the release of the ‘DMK files’ where he made graft allegations against the party and its president MK Stalin, said it was “just part one”. “I think the numbers are pretty high. Rs 1,34,000 crore for about 11 people in the DMK who have been in the party for 30-40 years. We disclosed approximately 190 companies owned by them and we valued each one professionally,” said Annamalai while speaking at the India Today Karnataka Roundtable 2023.

He said he wants to point out the corruption in the state and the focus is not on the numbers. “More than the numbers, what we are more interested in is bringing corruption into the central narrative of Tamil Nadu politics and bringing it to the public forum. But unfortunately, no one wants to talk about it.

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All is not rosy in Tamil Nadu and if anyone looks from the outside, we are a state with Rs 7,20,000 crore debt and servicing it will take 40-45 years. All this money was siphoned off to shell companies, corporations, and it came back as white money to Tamil Nadu. We want to put this at the centre of the narrative.”

DMK CHAKRAVYUH PARTY

The BJP leader called DMK a “Chakravyuh party” and said, “DMK has layers like an onion. The first family is the core of the onion, they are surrounded by intellectuals. Then the Dravidian ideologues, then they have the media who support them, then companies, then they have Dravidian intellectuals who build narratives outside.”

Commenting on the audio clip he released of Tamil Nadu finance minister Palanivel Thiagarajan (PTR), Annamalai said, “The important part is when PTR said that CM Stalin and his son-in-law are making money in a month which is more than what their grandfather made in a lifetime.”

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He slammed the DMK and said, “Till now they haven’t said that any of the companies that we have listed in the ‘files’ are not theirs or that they are not shareholders. So PTR’s leaked audio is adding a lot of credence to our allegation that the DMK as a party, as a government, is making tonnes of money and is running like a criminal syndicate.”

Annamalai said the current issue is an “open and shut case” because the BJP has the documents to prove their case. “We are confident when the CBI takes over and looks at the evidence, probably the people who made the mistake will go to jail.”

ON BJP’S SOUTH FUTURE

Speaking on the BJP’s position in Tamil Nadu, Annamalai said the saffron party is the only one “offering something different”. “We value the regional sentiment with a nationalist spirit,” he added.

He said the people of Tamil are “getting fed up” with the usual debates of “Hindi vs Tamil, Aryan vs Dravidian, North vs South”. “After a point of time, you just can’t take it. This is too much for anybody,” he said.

Talking on the “dahi” issue in the state, he said the removal of the word from curd-sachets happened within 24 hours with just a letter because, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi at heart is a person who gives a lot of impetus to regional sentiments. Because he is from Gujarat, where Hindi is not the mother tongue. So he understands that for India to do well, all regional aspirations should be met.”

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Annamalai said the DMK has a problem with this because “till now it was their bread and butter”. “We are doing it because we are a national party with regional aspirations built inside.”

He said whenever he meets the party high command including PM Modi in Delhi, he starts with Tamil and then switches to English. Annamalai recounted an incident and said when Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay tried to speak in Hindi, PM Modi asked him to stop, saying, “Don’t worry, speak in Telugu. Even if people don’t understand, it does not matter. You speak in Telugu and people will understand the spirit behind it.”

“That is how PM Modi is. But what is happening is, for too long, these regional parties have thrived on the Hindi, North vs South issues,” he added.

Answering a question about the party’s roadmap to make inroads in southern states, he said, “Even before the BJP could establish itself, the DMK and AIADMK were in power multiple times. They have had a head-start but we are catching up.”

“These regional parties have become ‘parivarvaad’ parties. Take Tamil Nadu – the CM, his son is a minister, his son-in-law controls, his sister is an MP. If you look at CM Stalin’s family, directly or indirectly, four or five people hold a Constitutional position.”

Annamalai commented on CM MK Stalin’s remark that the BJP would not be able to win in Tamil Nadu and said the saffron party will make a mark. “It’s a matter of time. The fact that MK Stalin ji is speaking about it means he has taken it seriously. A party like DMK which never uses the word BJP is using it every day, criticising us and arresting our party workers. That itself means BJP is on the growth path.”

He implied that the BJP is different from other national parties, saying, “For a long time, state leaders were just like managers for national parties.” He took the example of Veerendra Patil who was removed as Karnataka CM by Rajiv Gandhi, he said, “That is how most national parties treated their leaders in India. Because the ‘parivarvaad’ in Congress was more powerful. But if you look at BJP, we are investing in leaders now. In our party, there is a system where nobody can hold a term for more than three years…BJP will never make the mistake Congress.”

On being asked whether people in southern India have accepted the BJP, “Unless we recreate the bond, the spirit of Bharat, electoral success will come.”

ON KARNATAKA ELECTIONS

Speaking on Jagadish Shettar leaving the BJP and joining the Congress, he said, “I wish the very best to Shettar ji. I really learnt a lot from him.” He added that Shettar’s “time came” and “when someone says ‘not giving me a ticket is an insult’, I think that is not the spirit of a BJP-ian”.

On the corruption allegations against the Karnataka government led by the BJP, including the “PayCM” campaign, he said, “We were busy governing when Congress was setting up fake narratives. It was going at a blistering pace after 2018 and after Covid to complete infrastructure projects. Congress might do Twitter or Facebook campaigns, but elections are not won on Twitter, it is on the ground.”

He said he is “very confident” that the BJP will come to power in Karnataka because people don’t want “khichdi sarkaar again”. “Come May 13, we are confident that we will win 130 seats on our own. We have taken a lot of risks, there are better candidates, there is a combination of young candidates and experienced ones,” said Annamalai.

KEEP DREAMING OF RCB’S WIN

On asked if he supports Chennai Super Kings or Royal Challengers Bangalore, he said, “We are divided by IPL teams but united as Indians. I am a hardcore CSK supporter. Dhoni is our asset and it is probably the last season for Thala and all of us hope that the rest of the matches he plays, he does it with a lot of spirit and enjoyment. Tamil soil has given him a lot of love. More than a CSK supporter, I am emotional because he has given us a lot of joy over the last 13 to 14 years. Across the world and to Tamilians as a club. I am a hardcore CSK supporter for the next few matches because we want Dhoni ji to do well and have a great life post his career in cricket too.” On the anchor’s “Hope the RCB wins this time”, Annamalai replied, “Keep dreaming”.

The Tamil Nadu BJP chief also said the 2024 Lok Sabha election is “Modiji’s election”. “It is our election, it is NDA’s election,” he added.

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