DMK Working President M K Stalin today flayed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for meeting former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam at "short notice" but giving no time to him to apprise him of farmers' cause, a charge junked by the BJP.
Stalin rued that the PM could meet AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) faction leader Panneerselvam, "just an MLA" but spared no time for him, either as the leader of opposition in Tamil Nadu assembly or a farmers' representative whose cause he wanted to take up with him.
Referring to Panneerselvam's meeting with Modi in Delhi on Friday, Stalin said the latter gave the former chief minister appointment on "short notice."
"What I am asking is, you (PM) are aware of the plight of farmers, who are facing so many difficulties. They held a protest in Delhi for almost 50 days."
"But the prime minister never gave an appointment to them. They said you (PM) may not heed their demands but at least give an audience for their satisfaction to hear them out," he said.
Stalin recalled that as leader of opposition (LoP) in the Tamil Nadu assembly, he had recently chaired an "all-party meeting" to discuss farmers' problems in the state.
One of the resolutions passed in that meeting was to meet the prime minister and convey to him the decisions taken in the meeting, he said.
The prime minister could have meet him at least on behalf of the all party leaders even if he could not grant an audience to all of them, Stalin said.
"We had sought an appointment (with Modi) and are waiting. But there has been no response from the Prime Minister's Office (so far)."
"The prime minister is meeting someone (Panneerselvam) who is holding no post. But he doesn't meet the LoP, who has so much responsibility to discuss farmers' problems," he said.
Stalin said Panneerselvam is only a member of the legislative assembly (MLA).
Hitting out at Stalin for his criticism of the prime minister, the BJP's state unit said it was "not proper" for him to level such charges against Modi.
"The prime minister knows when to meet whom and under what circumstances," BJP state unit president Tamilisai Sounderrajan said.
The prime minister was not saying no to meeting people and was meeting those from the lower strata of society too, she said.
She recalled that Modi had recently met, among others, some local body representatives from Tamil Nadu.
He had also 'met' agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan, she said, in an apparent reference to the prime minister releasing a book by the scientist.
"Therefore these accusations made against the prime minister are for politics and nothing else," she added.
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