The Congress MP candidly spoke on various issues to the media at the Coimbatore International Airport.
Coimbatore: Sivaganga Lok Sabha Member Karti P Chidambaram who was in Coimbatore to attend an event spoke to the media at the Coimbatore International Airport on Thursday.
"The pilgrimage of Congress President Rahul Gandhi is a journey to reach out to the public and any journey will be successful. That is the strength of the party. It is also a great opportunity to meet the public," stated Karti P Chidambaram.
To a question on Ghulam Nabi Azad leaving the Congress and the presence of Congress in Tamil Nadu, Karti P Chidambaram responded saying, "Whoever leaves the party is a setback for the party. The Congress party's presence is strange in Tamil Nadu since we are in alliance with the ruling party in Tamil Nadu but have no role in the Government. Hence, we are unable to present people's problems and we cannot function as an opposition party."
On other issues plaguing the State, he opined, "The hike in customs duty in Tamil Nadu has increased the tax burden on the common man. People were affected by GST, demonetisation and non-payment of incentives to anyone while announcing the lockdown. As long as today's Prime Minister and Finance Minister continue to exist, no one will get anything for the people. The Enforcement Directorate and the CBI are being targeted against parties that are opposed to the BJP and are dragging people. They are breaking parties in the wrong way."
He also added, "Since the Congress party has fewer members in Parliament, we are not able to raise questions. The Hindutva ideology is rooted. Therefore, our argument against Hindutva has not been taken up for the time being. Adani has been ranked third in the list of the world's richest people and should be on the BJP's list of achievements."
On Tamil Nadu's problems, Karti P Chidambaram said, "There are a lot of people's problems in Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu Congress party should meet people frequently and raise their voices on people's issues. But we could not do that because we were in alliance with the ruling DMK. But, in the last one-and-a-half years, the Chief Minister has been active, transparent and easily accessible."
Earlier in the day, BJP State President Annamalai also arrived at the airport. BJP workers gathered there and raised slogans in support of Annamalai. Tension prevailed at the airport for a few minutes since a clash broke out between the two parties when the Congress party also raised counter-slogans.