PM Modi targets Congress, DMK in Tamil Nadu rally; says their 'leaders sit and brainstorm how to loot'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday lashed out at the opposition over misgovernance as he addressed a rally at the poll-bound Tamil Nadu. He also termed the seat-sharing meetings between Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Congress party as "corruption hackathons" and said, "Their leaders sit and brainstorm how to loot."

"Today, the nation is seeing two distinct styles of politics - the opposition's misgovernance with corruption and NDA's governance with compassion," PM Modi said at an event in Coimbatore.

Further targeting the DMK, PM Modi said that DMK has lost the right to be called an all Tamil Nadu party. "Last time they won a full majority on their own in the state was 25 years ago. Both parties have tried to launch and re-launch their respective first families but got no success. There is continuous family drama there," he added.

With just three months left for the assembly elections in the state, the DMK and its alliance partner in Tamil Nadu are holding seat-sharing talks. However, no consensus has been reached so far.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi inaugurated key infrastructure projects, including the Bhawani Sagar Dam in the state. "This project will be of great benefit for our farmers," he said. "The foundation stone to modernise the Bhawani Sagar Dam is being laid. This will irrigate over 2 lakh acres of land. The district of Erode, Karur, Tiruppur will benefit from this," PM Modi also said.

He also said that India's commitment to port-led development can be seen through the Sagarmala scheme as he dedicated the project to the country. Further speaking on future projects, PM Modi said, "About 575 projects at a total cost of over ₹6 lakh crores have been identified for implementation during 2015-2035 period."