'Tamil Nadu won't bow to Delhi': Stalin slams Modi's 'double-engine' pitch

Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin counters PM Modi's 'double engine' government concept, calling it a 'dappa engine' that won't work in his state

Narendra Modi, M.K. Stalin Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left); Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin (right) | PTI

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin countered Prime Minister Narendra Modi's double-engine government claims and said non-BJP states are far developed than the former. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader said "double-engine" government will never run in Tamil Nadu.

Countering prime minister's claims, who kickstarted the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) campaign for upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly polls on Friday, Stalin charged the Tamil Nadu will never forget the injustice meted out to them by the BJP-led Centre.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader asked Modi to ponder how states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, and West Bengal, where the "double engine" has not entered, were registering growth.

"The double engine that the PM talks about will not run in Tamil Nadu... Tamil Nadu has achieved historical growth by overcoming all the obstacles created by the BJP government at the Centre," Stalin tweeted.

"Think about it for a moment more than the double engine states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar that you talk about, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, and West Bengal, where the double engine has not entered, are registering growth," Stalin said. "Tamil Nadu will not bow to Delhi's arrogance," Stalin added.

Campaigning in Tamil Nadu on Friday, Modi said, "We have to free Tamil Nadu from the clutches of the DMK." Modi charged the menace of drugs and crime was rampant in Tamil Nadu, and claimed youth were falling prey to narcotics while women suffered due to the instances of crime.