Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday addressed BJP’s booth committee members in Tirunelveli, where he combined a strong political attack on the DMK and Congress and explained of recent legislative moves in Parliament. The visit, part of his outreach to five southern constituencies, also aimed at energising party cadres ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Beginning his speech by bowing to “the soil of Tamil Nadu” and apologising for not speaking in Tamil, Shah alleged widespread corruption under the DMK government. “Senthil Balaji was in jail. There are allegations against Ponmudi. Should such people run the government? That is why we have brought a new law in Parliament,” he said.
“Can a government be run from jail? DMK members are calling this a ‘black bill,’ but Stalin has no right to call it that because he himself is a Chief Minister who engages in black deeds,” Amit Shah said.
VIDEO | Tirunelveli: Addressing a gathering, Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, “PM Modi tabled the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, and the entire opposition opposed it. The Bill proposes the removal of jailed Chief Ministers and Prime Ministers. DMK… pic.twitter.com/TWAkGQ5hU6
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Earlier this week, Shah had tabled three important bills in the Lok Sabha, including the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025. The proposed legislation seeks to mandate the automatic removal of elected representatives — including the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and Union Ministers — if they are arrested and detained for 30 consecutive days on serious criminal charges.
In Tirunelveli, Shah took direct aim at DMK youth wing leader and Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, declaring, “Not even for one day will Udhayanidhi become Chief Minister.” He also dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s national ambitions, saying, “Rahul Gandhi will never be Prime Minister.”
Accusing the DMK of being responsible for “the biggest corruption in India,” Shah alleged irregularities in transport, food supply and sand mining sectors under the state government. Amit Shah said, as per PTI, “DMK is the most corrupt government in the country, embroiled in ‘scams’ including sand mining, nutrition kit, cash-for-jobs MNREGA and more.”
The closed-door meeting lasted nearly three hours and brought together booth-level workers from Kanyakumari, Tenkasi, Tuticorin, Virudhunagar and Tirunelveli constituencies. Party insiders described it as a pep talk to prepare the BJP’s grassroots machinery for the state polls.
This was Shah’s third visit to Tamil Nadu this year, following stops in Madurai and Chennai to reinforce the BJP’s alliance with the AIADMK. On social media platform X, he had earlier described Tamil Nadu and Kerala as “states close to my heart.”
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