AIADMK, DMK and Congress corrupt: Amit Shah (Lead, Changing dateline)

BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday alleged that the AIADMK, DMK and the Congress were all corrupt and urged the people of Tamil Nadu to vote his party to power.

The Bharatiya Janata Party can provide the alternative to the existing political parties in the state, Shah said.

Speaking to reporters in Tiruchirapalli, around 340 km from Chennai, after chairing a party meeting, Shah alleged that that ruling AIADMK, DMK as well as the Congress were corrupt parties.

He listed out the 2G corruption case in the context of the DMK and the case of disproportionate assets to target AIADMK leader and Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.

Shah said the Enforcement Directorate's case against Karti Chidambaram, son of Congress leader P. Chidambaram, showed that the three parties indulged in corruption when in power.

In contrast, he asserted, there were no corruption charges against the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said Tamil Nadu voters normally voted out a government but in the May 16 assembly elections, they should decide which party must come to power.

He added that the BJP could provide the "alternative" Tamil Nadu was seeking. The BJP will give a transparent and good governance.

According to him, the AIADMK and DMK had ruled Tamil Nadu alternatively for the past nearly 50 years and it was time for a change.

The BJP leader said Tamil Nadu had not progressed because of corruption.

He said that due to the non-cooperation of the state government, central government schemes were not being implemented in Tamil Nadu.

He said the central government's Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) had benefitted states that opted for it but Tamil Nadu didn't join the scheme.

The Tamil Nadu government's stand is that the UDAY scheme benefits only banks and the private power producers, and not the state government or the people.

Shah claimed that due to the steps taken by the Modi government, the firing at Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy had stopped.

The central government had also ensured that the death penalty given to five fishermen in Sri Lanka was not carried out.

The BJP is fighting the assembly polls in Tamil Nadu alongwith smaller parties.