india

Updated: Mar 06, 2019 22:49 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced that the Chennai Central railway station would be named after the late founder of Tamil Nadu’s ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and five-time chief minister, M G Ramachandran.

He made the announcement at his first public rally in Tamil Nadu since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and AIADMK last month announced their alliance in the state for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Modi said the Centre was “seriously” thinking about ensuring that all announcements on flights from Chennai are made in Tamil.

The BJP is contesting five Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu as it seeks to return to power at the Centre. It has peaked in its western and northern Indian strongholds like Uttar Pradesh, where it won 71 out of the 80 seats in 2014.

Tamil Nadu has the most Lok Sabha seats – 39 – after Uttar Pradesh (80), Maharashtra (48) and West Bengal (42). The AIADMK swept the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu in 2014 and won 37 out of the 39 seats. The BJP managed to win just one seat while the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Congress failed to win any.

Modi accused the Congress of being intolerant towards regional aspirations. He added the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance alone was committed to fulfilling them.

“[Late former Prime Minister] Indira Gandhi dismissed many state governments. Even Tamil Nadu’s current Opposition party, the DMK, has been a victim of Congress hatred for regional aspirations. But now opportunism has prevailed over values,” Modi said, referring to the DMK’s alliance with the Congress.

Earlier at a separate rally in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi, Modi asked the people to ensure BJP gets a majority in the national polls. “…only such a government could ensure that developmental works are taken up.”

Karnataka minister and Congress leader D K Shivakumar said Modi was only interested in politics and not the people’s welfare. “Just because he has to say something against us, he is making these comments.”