Stalin Accuses Centre Of Prejudice Against Tamil Nadu, Repeats ‘Washing Machine’ Allegation

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin on Saturday accused the Union government of showing prejudice against the state and reinforced Finance Minister Thangam Thenarasu’s charge of “financial discrimination” in central allocations, PTI reported.

In a post on X tagging Thenarasu, Stalin said not only the Finance Minister but also “the hearts of the people in Tamil Nadu were filled with many questions” about what he described as the Centre’s biased approach.

“I (wish to) ask some of them. How can corrupt individuals emerge clean from the ‘washing machine’ after joining the BJP alliance?” Stalin said, repeating his “washing machine” analogy to accuse the BJP of cleansing the reputations of tainted politicians.

Stalin also questioned what he termed the Centre’s “arrogance” in naming important national schemes and laws only in Hindi and Sanskrit. “Why are Union Ministers limiting our children by telling them unscientific superstitions? What are you going to achieve by creating chaos through Governors in the states ruled by opposition parties?” he asked.

The Chief Minister further raised concerns about alleged vote rigging “to cheat people’s votes for the BJP’s election victory by supporting the SIR,” and criticised the Centre’s refusal to accept the Keezhadi archaeological report, which he said was based on scientific validation. “As usual, will you start spreading false propaganda on WhatsApp University?” he added.

According to PTI, Stalin’s remarks followed Finance Minister Thangam Thenarasu’s statement in the Assembly on October 17, in which he raised ten questions accusing the Centre of showing “financial prejudice” against Tamil Nadu.

Thenarasu said the Centre’s claims of “cooperative federalism” under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) reform were empty, and alleged a “stepmotherly attitude” aimed at undermining Tamil Nadu’s education system by imposing the National Education Policy (NEP) and Hindi.

He also cited the non-inclusion of Tamil Nadu in road projects, what he called discrimination against the Southern Railway in allocating funds for new railway projects, and delays in approving the Madurai and Coimbatore Metro Rail projects.

Thenarasu further questioned why ₹3,709 crore due to Tamil Nadu under the Jal Jeevan Mission had not been released, and why the state, which accounts for six per cent of India’s population, received only four per cent in financial devolution, PTI reported.

Stalin’s remarks, PTI noted, reflected the DMK government’s consistent accusation that the Centre’s fiscal and administrative policies continue to disadvantage Tamil Nadu both financially and institutionally.

(With inputs from PTI)