Tamil Nadu won’t be ruled from Nagpur, Stalin will be CM, says Rahul Gandhi

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, addressing a public rally in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, on Friday, accused the Narendra Modi-led BJP government of practising the politics of hate against the people of the state and promised a “surgical strike” on poverty if his party came to power.

Promises and attacks

Gandhi said the people of Tamil Nadu could not be won over without love. Recalling Modi’s promise of Rs 15 lakh in every bank account, he said he had known that was not possible and had wanted real figures on how much could actually be given to each household. He said he did not want to damage the economy.

He accused the prime minister of running a government for 15 people over the past five years and named Anil Ambani, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi among them, calling them Modi’s friends.

On women’s reservation, Gandhi said seats would be reserved for women in the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and state legislatures, and that thirty-three per cent of central government jobs would also be set aside for them. He described his alliance as one of the people, committed to social justice and secularism.

On the state government

Criticising the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, Gandhi said the state would be governed from within and not from Nagpur, and that MK Stalin would become its chief minister. “We won’t permit Tamil Nadu to be ruled from Nagpur,” he said as he ended his speech.

What happened next

In the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly election, the DMK won 133 seats to the AIADMK’s 66, and MK Stalin became Chief Minister.

See also: Indian National Congress

Originally published on 12 April 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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