CHENNAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed his apprehension that the DMK and the Congress will "insult more women in Tamil Nadu" if they are voted to power, citing DMK leader and former Union Minister A. Raja's attack on Chief Minister K. Palaniswami and his mother.
"DMK and Congress have insulted the late mother of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. God forbid, if they come to power, the Congress and DMK will insult more women of Tamil Nadu," he said at a public meeting at Dharapuram.
Recalling how late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was insulted in the Assembly on March 20, 1989 when the DMK had come to power, he alleged that "insulting women is part of the DMK culture".
"We believe that the progress of the society is not complete without empowerment of women," he said. He also spoke of his high esteem for the ideals of late Chief Ministers MGR and Jayalalithaa, of the AIADMK.
Modi also said that India is proud of the culture of Tamil Nadu and his government wants to promote Tamil culture and Tamil language to empower the farmers, poor and women of the state. "I had got a chance to speak a few words in the oldest language in the world - Tamil in the United Nations and it was one of the proudest moments of my life," he said.
He said that higher education should be in Tamil and the government is trying to promote even medical and technical education in Tamil language.
He said that the people from Tamil Nadu had created wealth and value for the nation are are known for business sense and compassion. "The small and medium businessmen of this state had gone out of the way to help others," he said, adding that his government will support any business to grow and prosper.
The Prime Minister said that the defence corridor in Tamil Nadu will bring lot of benefits, adding that he is proud to announce that tanks made in Tamil Nadu are deployed on the border in north India to protect the nation. He said that a toy cluster will be opened in Tamil Nadu and will support several artisans and people who make dolls and toys. (IANS)