TN: Annamalai Responds To CM Stalin's 'PM Modi Has No Right To Speak About Corruption' Remark

In a letter posted on social media, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president K Annamalai responded to Chief Minister MK Stalin's remarks in Tiruvarur stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had no right to speak about corruption.

Chief Minister Stalin alleged that a recent CAG report had exposed corruption in the Dwarka Expressway, projects under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, toll collection, Ayodhya development, the Ayushman Bharat scheme etc.

Annamalai said that the CAG report had only mentioned 'cost escalation' and not 'corruption', 'malpractice', or 'fraud' unlike what was alleged by Chief Minister Stalin.

About the Dwarka Expressway, he said that the report itself mentions that one of the reasons for cost escalation is due to a change in the design, which has made 8 lanes as flyovers and 6 lanes in the form of an expressway.

He also sought to remind the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) of Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari's statement in Parliament in which he had said that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was facing difficulties in getting clearances and access to construction material like aggregates leading to delays and increase in costs of road projects in Tamil Nadu.

He alleged that DMK ministers were involved in smuggling mineral ores to neighbouring states like Kerala. "What action has the Chief Minister taken against them", he asked.

During his padayatra in Kanyakumari district, Annamalai had alleged that Dairy Minister Mano Thangaraj was part of one such nexus.

On the issue of several beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat being linked to the same phone number, he said that while the central government had brought in technology to prevent such instances, it is the state government's duty to make the corrections and ensure removal of fake accounts.

Citing the CAG report on 2G spectrum allocations, he said that it is the DMK that is corrupt.

Also Read: 'Highway Construction In Tamil Nadu Delayed Due To State Government': Annamalai Shares Data Supporting Gadkari's Statement In Parliament

CAG Report Exposes Delays: Chennai's Vital Highway Projects Mired In Bureaucratic Red Tape