Amit Shah dubs the DMK government the most corrupt in the country

Launching a scathing attack on the DMK government, BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday (January 4, 2026) that if there was one most corrupt State government in the country, “it is unfortunately the one in Tamil Nadu”.

The DMK government had “failed” on all fronts and was the only government that had implemented “very few” election promises, he said in Pudukottai. Speaking at the conclusion of BJP State president Nainar  Nagenthran’s ‘Tamizhagam Thalai Nimira Tamizhanin Payanam’ road show, he alleged that there was no guarantee for the safety of women in Tamil Nadu.

According to him, the DMK government’s sole objective was to make Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’ son and DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin the next Chief Minister. “Time has come to wipe out the family rule in Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Shah said, addressing a large gathering.

First, it was DMK leader M. Karunanidhi, followed by Mr. Stalin, and now Mr. Udhayanidhi. Mr. Stalin’s dream of making his son the Chief Minister would not become a reality, the Home Minister said, adding that he could read the “writing on the wall” that a “National Democratic Alliance government” would be formed in the State in April 2026.

‘Banking on loans’

Mr. Shah alleged that many DMK Ministers were linked to multi-crore cash for jobs, money-laundering, illegal sand mining, and coal scams. “With so many corrupt Ministers in the DMK government, Tamil Nadu cannot develop. For every scheme that is implemented, there is 20% cut money. Tamil Nadu’s budget is banking on loan and revenue generated through liquor sale,” he said.

The DMK government was carrying out a campaign that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre was against Tamil language. Listing some of the measures taken by the Narendra Modi government, he said it established the Subramania Bharathi Chair at Banaras Hindu University at Varanasi. The Thirukkural was translated into 13 languages. A Tamilian,  C.P. Radhakrishnan, was made the Vice-President of India.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah (centre) flanked by Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagenthran (left) and other party leaders at the closing ceremony of Nagenthran’s ‘Tamilagam Thalai Nimira Tamilanin Payanam Yatra’ campaign in Pudukkottai on January 4, 2025
| Photo Credit:
R. Vengadesh

‘Natural alliance’

Terming the alliance between the AIADMK and the BJP “natural”, Mr. Shah said the alliance had fought jointly in the 1998 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, besides in the 2021 Assembly election. The BJP and the  AIADMK would forge a strong alliance with other partners and work for the final battle with the DMK- Congress combine.

The DMK was insulting Hindu religious beliefs, Mr. Shah said, referring to the remarks of one of its leaders comparing sanathana dharma with dengue and malaria. Mr. Shah said that since 2024, the NDA had won in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Bihar, and it was the turn of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal in 2026. He urged his party cadre to take a vow to ensure that the NDA government was formed with majority in Tamil Nadu.

Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Ram Meghwal and L. Murugan; Mr. Nainar Nagenthran; former BJP presidents K. Annamalai and  Pon. Radhakrishnan; and others took part at the event.