"It is mere rhetoric..." DMK leader Saravanan counters PM Modi's family statement

Chennai: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Saravanan Annadurai on Tuesday countered Prime Minister Narendra Modi's family statement that the entire nation is his family, calling it a "mere rhetoric" and asked him what has he done for the country in the last ten years.
"It is mere rhetoric. I want to ask the Prime Minister, what has he done for the country in the last 10 years. You promised so many things. You promised Rs 15 lakhs if you brought back the black money stashed away. You say the entire country is your family, so why are you not giving this 15 lakhs to your family members, and why are you cheating on them?" DMK leader Saravanan said.
Earlier PM Modi on Monday said that 140 crore Indians are 'my family' and slammed the 'dynasty parties', saying that they may have different faces, but 'jhoot and loot' was their common character.
"You all know DMK, Congress and other parties. Their motto is family first. Modi says nation first and that is why people of the INDI alliance have found a new formula to abuse me. They say Modi doesn't have a family. Does this mean that those who have families get a license to commit corruption? They have developed a habit of abusing my family again and again. I have left home not for myself but for the country. My family is in this country, 140 countrymen...Jiska koi nahi wo bhi Modi Ke hai aur Modi unka hai. Mere Bharat mera Parivaar and that's why the entire country is saying today that "Main Hoon Modi ka Parivaar"...said PM Modi while addressing a public event in Chennai.
PM Modi's response came in after Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's 'no family' jibe at him.
Annadurai also slammed the 'Modi Ka Parivar' campaign by top BJP leaders in response to Lalu Prasad's remark that Modi has no family.
Drawing attention to the Pocso case against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh, Annadurai criticised the leniency shown towards the accused, questioning the impartiality of the legal process.
"Brijbhushan Singh, in his Twitter post, wrote 'Modi Ka Parivar,' Yes, he is a parivarvad of the Modi government, that is why no action has been initiated against him. Even after the Pocso case has been registered, the Delhi Police say you may be released on bail; if don't released on bail, I am not worried. Is this the same kind of laxity and levity you allow for any other opposition politician, especially in the case of Pocso? He was not arrested; he was given a red carpet and welcomed at the new parliament function. This is what we call parivarvad, and BJP excels at that," DMK leader Saravanan said.
Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President JP Nadda, and others added 'Modi Ka Parivar' to their social media profiles, showing solidarity with PM Modi.
Highlighting the PM's purported failure to address issues like rising petrol and LPG prices, Annadurai argued that Modi's family members, i.e., the people of India, are the ones suffering.
"I think the PM has got it wrong this time. He has not done anything for the people of this country. Look at the petrol price; why is he not reducing it for his family members (for the people of INDIA)? It's his family members who are suffering. Look at the LPG price cylinder; he promised that he would bring down the price of the LPG cylinder. He came to power in 2014, citing that he would bring down the price of the LPG cylinder. Why is the PM not worried about his family members who are paying 950 rupees for an LPG cylinder that was 400 rupees when he came to power? We can ask so many things. The youth of this country; you ask your family members to go sell 'pakodas' instead of providing jobs to them. So this gimmick is not going to work this time. People have seen through this rhetoric, the politics of headline management. They are going to lose the battle in this election" DMK leader Saravanan said.
Annadurai accuses the BJP of practising "parivarvad" (nepotism), emphasizing the dissatisfaction of the public with the government's performance.
"The PM seems desperate; his desperation is evident in his speech. He made some exaggerated allegations. We want to remind the PM that Gujarat is the entry point for most illegal drugs in the country. We've witnessed thousands of crores worth of drugs intercepted at the Mundra port in Gujarat. Why hasn't the PM visited Gujarat and addressed this issue? Is he not concerned about the youth of Gujarat? Why this sudden affection and inclination towards the welfare of the state of TN? Sir, if you want to contribute to TN's welfare, release the funds. You are withholding the funds" DMK leader Saravanan said.
Saravanan made a humble request to PM Modi, urging him to demonstrate the party's claimed popularity by allowing prominent Tamil ministers to contest from the state of Tamil Nadu.
"If the PM is so confident that his popularity and that of the BJP have increased, why has he not allowed L Murugan to contest from this seat? He has allowed him to be elected as a Rajya Sabha member from somewhere else. We make a humble request to Mr Modi; he says most of the ministers are going to contest the Lok Sabha elections. We ask Madam Nirmala Sitharaman and Mr J Shankar, who claim to be Tamils, to contest from the state of Tamil Nadu. We request them. We humbly request the PM to nominate them from here. Then he will know and understand what kind of popularity he has" DMK leader Saravanan said.