Chennai: The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu has hit back at Union Minister Amit Shah for his criticism of the party and its president, M K Stalin, on issues including the Constitutional Amendment Bill, reiterating its stand that it was a 'black' bill. DMK Deputy General Secretary and Lok Sabha MP A Raja took a swipe at the Union Home Minister for referring to Thirukkural during his address to partymen in the state's Tirunelveli, saying this won't fetch votes for the saffron party. Shah, addressing a party meeting, slammed Chief Minister Stalin for calling the 130th Constitution Amendment Bill a black bill, saying he had no right to say so as he was a CM doing "black deed."
The bill provides for the removal of prime minister, chief ministers and ministers arrested on serious criminal charges for 30 days, drawing fierce protests from the Opposition. In a DMK statement on Friday, Raja claimed 28 ministers in the PM Modi-led cabinet faced cases and that 39 per cent of the cabinet members had "criminal background." "Will this law apply to them. Would not you call a law brought to remove those whom they (BJP) don't like from power as a black bill or not? If this is a good bill, why doesn't it apply to the BJP alone?" Raja asked. The bill has been brought by the BJP to intimidate its political rivals and Stalin raising his voice against the "autocratic black bill has shaken Amit Shah, prompting him to deliver a bag of lies," Raja alleged. He also slammed Shah for dubbing the incumbent DMK government as the most corrupt in the country, saying he had made similar comments against the AIADMK governments in 2016 and 2018. But why has the BJP aligned with the Edappadi K Palaniswami-led AIADMK now, the DMK leader asked.