Karunanidhi defended, Modi govt attacking institutions: Rahul

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday claimed that while late Tamil Nadu chief minister Karunanidhi defended the institutions of the country, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attacking the voice, culture, institutions of Tamil Nadu and India.

"While Karunanidhi Ji defended institutions of this country, today we have a government that is attacking voice, culture, institutions of Tamil Nadu and our country. In memory of Karunanidhi Ji, all voices in India are going to get together and defeat the BJP in the next election," he said while addressing a public rally here.

The Gandhi scion asserted that in order to save the institutions of the country, it is essential to defeat the BJP, thus reiterating the need for all voices of the nation to come together.

"We are not going to allow the destruction of the idea of India, the destructions of our institutions- the Supreme Court, the Reserve Bank of India, the Election Commission. We are going to stand together and do this (defeat BJP)," Rahul said.

Earlier today, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi inaugurated a statue of Karunanidhi at the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) headquarters.

The occasion assumed significance as a number of political leaders spread across different parties attended the event in a show of opposition unity.

Apart from Sonia and Rahul, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan were present at the event, along with Karunanidhi's grandnephew Dayanidhi Maran and his daughter Kanimozhi.