Chennai, July 17 Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan launched a sharp attack on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin on Thursday, accusing him of resorting to "gimmick-driven politics" in a bid to salvage his party's "eroding" base following the announcement of the BJP-AIADMK alliance.
Addressing reporters, MoS Murugan said the DMK leadership appeared visibly unsettled by the growing strength of the BJP-AIADMK front.
"Ever since the alliance was announced, CM Stalin has been losing sleep. His party's latest PR campaign, 'Oraniyil Tamil Nadu', is nothing more than a desperate attempt to stem the erosion of support," Murugan alleged.
He further accused DMK cadres of aggressively enrolling new members with the help of a private agency, using coercion and cash incentives to boost membership.
"It is ironic that a party which once claimed to have more than one crore members is now forced to offer Rs 1,000 to get new members. This reveals the hollowness of their organisational strength," Murugan charged.
Taking a dig at the Chief Minister's ongoing 'Ungaludan Stalin' (Stalin with You) outreach initiative, the Union Minister dubbed it "sticker politics" and claimed it was merely a repackaging of schemes originally introduced by late AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.
"After remaining inactive for over four years, CM Stalin is now misusing state machinery to hide his failures. This campaign is a blatant attempt to cover up governance lapses," he said.
MoS Murugan went on to criticise the DMK government's track record on law and order, citing increasing incidents of drug trafficking, human trafficking, and sexual crimes across the state.
"The people of Tamil Nadu are watching. They are ready to deliver a decisive verdict in the upcoming elections," he declared.
The remarks come at a time when political temperatures in Tamil Nadu are rising ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, with the BJP-AIADMK alliance positioning itself as a formidable alternative to the DMK-led government.
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