CM Stalin attacking ECI to divert attention from corruption, says TN BJP

Chennai, Aug 19 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday came down heavily on Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, terming his allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI) “baseless” and a cover-up to divert attention from rampant corruption.

In a strongly worded statement, BJP spokesperson A.N.S. Prasad accused CM Stalin of attempting to divert public attention from the “catastrophic failures” of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) under Electricity Minister S. S. Sivasankar.

Prasad said that instead of addressing the corruption and inefficiency within the electricity department, the Chief Minister was targeting the ECI in order to undermine legitimate protests and criticism from the opposition.

Highlighting what he called “systemic corruption and betrayal”, the BJP leader said repeated tariff hikes had burdened industries, small and micro enterprises, and households across the state. Despite assurances of no additional burden on domestic users, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) revised tariffs upward by 3.16 per cent from July 1.

According to the BJP, this decision has hit industries particularly hard, driving up the cost of production and threatening jobs in key sectors such as textiles.

The statement also charged that frequent power outages have disrupted agriculture, small businesses, and urban households, while no new power generation projects have been initiated in the last four years.

“Tamil Nadu has been forced to depend on costly external purchases while infrastructure continues to decay,” Prasad said, adding that claims of a “power surplus” were misleading.

Allegations of corruption in transformer purchases, inflated tenders, and bribes for solar approvals were also levelled against the DMK government.

Prasad argued that subsidies were being offset by stealthy hikes in electricity, milk, property tax, and water charges, which, he said, had worsened the economic burden on ordinary citizens.

Even in Stalin’s own constituency of Kolathur, the BJP noted, residents have reportedly faced power cuts almost daily, reflecting a shortage of manpower and poor management in the electricity department.

“The DMK government, led by Stalin and Sivasankar, has betrayed the people’s trust. Instead of hollow advertisements and deflection, what Tamil Nadu needs is reliable power, transparent governance, and an end to corruption,” the BJP statement concluded, urging the government to withdraw tariff hikes and initiate probes into alleged irregularities.

--IANS

aal/dpb