New Delhi: Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of maligning the people of Tamil Nadu, as well as Lord Puri Jagannath, during his speech at an election rally in Odisha.
Modi had claimed that the missing keys of the Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove) of Puri Jagannath temple “had gone to Tamil Nadu”. Responding to this, Stalin said that the remarks were intended to foster enmity between the people of Tamil Nadu and Odisha, The New Indian Express reported.
“He [Modi] had not only insulted Lord Jagannath, who is worshipped by crores of people, but also wounded the people of Tamil Nadu who shared a cordial relationship with Odisha. Is it not a speech that is aimed at instigating the people of Odisha against the people of Tamil Nadu, whose devotion to Lord Jagannath is immeasurable? Can the Prime Minister term the people of Tamil Nadu as thieves who have stolen the keys of the treasury of Lord Jagannath temple,” Stalin said in a statement, according to The Hindu.
Stalin asked why the prime minister “was nurturing so much of hatred for Tamils”. He also stated that Modi spoke highly of the Tamil language and the intelligence of Tamils during visits to Tamil Nadu, but sought to portray them as thieves in his campaigns at Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha. “The people will understand his double standards. He should stop denigrating Tamil Nadu and Tamils,” Stalin said.
