AIADMK leaders praise Modi, terms Lok Sabha polls as a fight between "dharma and adharma"

AIADMK leaders K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam Wednesday heaped praise on Narendra Modi, saying the 'capable' and 'efficient' Prime Minister alone can ensure the country's safety and sought a successive term for him. In a grand NDA rally headed by Modi and attended by coalition partners, including PMK and outfits like Puthiya Tamizhagam, Chief Minister Palaniswami, who is the joint coordinator of the ruling AIADMK, said Modi was the only "capable" person to rule the country.

Panneerselvam, the AIADMK coordinator and deputy chief minister, said the coming Lok Sabha polls was a fight between "dharma and adharma" and said his alliance was fighting to uphold dharma. "The only man capable of ruling this country is the Prime Minister. If we are living safely here, it means the credit goes to his administrative skills," Palaniswami said.

The safety of 130 crore Indians was important and Modi had the qualification to ensure that, Palaniswami said. "The country's security is very important. Neighbours are creating so many problems. To handle them, we need an efficient person and people have decided only the Prime Minister can do that," he added.

Palaniswami lauded Modi for India's air strike in Pakistan post the Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. The world was supporting India on this matter and this was possible due to Modi's diplomacy by travelling to various countries in the past five years, Palaniswami said.

Further, Wing Commander Abhinanda Varthaman, the IAF pilot captured by Pakistan following a dogfight, was brought back in a short time and this was 'unprecedented,' the chief minister added. Modi had also kept inflation under control, he said and lauded the Prime Minister for the Centre's recent PM-Kisan scheme.

Taking a swipe at his party's arch rival DMK, Palaniswami demanded to know what the opposition party had done for Tamil Nadu despite being part of previous Central governments for about 13 years in a row. "What did they do for Tamil Nadu?. Only their family benefited. We need a strong India. We need to safeguard the country. For this, the Prime Minister has to return for a second term," Palaniswami said.

The "mega" NDA coalition in Tamil Nadu was a "natural alliance meant for public service," he said and urged the voters to give it a 'grand victory' in all 40 Lok Sabha seats- 39 in Tamil Nadu and the lone Puducherry segment. Panneerselvam expressed confidence of securing a "Himalayan victory" in the polls even as he described Modi as a "great son of Gujarat." "This election is between Dharma and Adharma and those who want to uphold Dharma are sitting on this dais," he said referring to the NDA constituents.

Strongly pitching for a second term for Modi as Prime Minister, Panneerselvam said only then would the welfare of the country and country and the state be ensured. In an apparent response to critics questioning AIADMK's tie-up with the saffron party, the AIADMK leader said the party has taken the "same decision that Amma (the late Jayalalithaa) would have taken" if she were alive and recalled the 'bond' between her and Modi.

Going it alone in the 2014 polls, late chief minister Jayalalithaa steered her party to a massive win by securing 37 of the 39 seats in the state, even as she took on the BJP leader then amidst a perceived "Modi wave". She had famously told the electorate during the campaign that this "lady is better than Modi" in administration, saying social indicators in the state were far better than Gujarat of that time, helmed by Modi as its then chief minister.

Panneerselvam, however, hailed the 'bond' between Jayalalithaa and Modi and said she was like an "elder sister to him." He praised Modi for allowing the bull-taming sport of jallikattu, bringing AIIMS to the state and launching a slew of rail and road projects in Tamil Nadu. The Centre was also 'supportive' of Tamil Nadu after Jayalalithaa's death, he said.

Hitting out at the Opposition, led by the DMK in the state,he asked if it could name a Prime Ministerial candidate. DMK President M K Stalin could not reiterate his 'Rahul for PM' slogan, made during a party rally in the presence of the Congress President, later in the Kolkata public meeting convened by West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, he said.

"I ask the Opposition-- can you name a PM candidate in your coalition? None has the qualification," he said.

(With inputs from agencies.)