DMK's Stalin gets Royapuram dare after goading long-time AIADMK Tamil Nadu MLA Jayakumar

Even ahead of the seat-sharing deal between the Congress and the DMK, the Stalin-led party has reserved Royapuram constituency for itself for the upcoming assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. The DMK has even claimed that the Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar - who is AIADMK MLA from the constituency - will lose deposit in the upcoming elections. The move to reserve Royapuram seat comes as Congress' former chief Rahul Gandhi is campaigning in the state.  In a sharp response to DMK, Jayakumar challenged DMK president MK Stalin to contest against him from Royapuram.

Fisheries Minister Jayakumar said, "Royapuram constituency people have elected me five times and for the sixth time too, they will elect me. I challenge the DMK president to contest against me in Royapuram if he has the guts." 

Earlier, while campaigning in Royapuram, Stalin alleged that the area witnessed no development despite Jayakumar being a minister for several years. "Fisheries Minister Jayakumar has also previously served as the Assembly speaker. Despite all this, the area does not even have basic infrastructure. Most people here belong to the fisherman community. Yet, they face many hardships to receive benefits of the fisherman welfare schemes such as subsidy for new boats," Stalin had said. 

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Rahul Gandhi's campaign 

Lashing out at the Centre's GST law, ex-Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that the Centre had crippled the MSMEs and the economic system by imposing the GST law. Promising to restructure the current GST regime to give the 'One Tax, Minimum Tax', Gandhi claimed that PM Modi is always seen with the 'largest industrialists', never the small & medium industrialists. Rahul Gandhi is currently on a 3-day tour in Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore, Tiruppur, and Karur.

"In my mind, the future of India and any competition we want to win with China, Bangladesh or others is through the MSMEs. The massive protests that are happening across India are because there is an attempt to impose one idea, one ideology in this country. Your language, your history is under attack. The Tamil Nadu spirit cannot be crushed," said Rahul Gandhi.

READ | EPS Says Stalin's Dream Of Becoming Tamil Nadu CM Will Never Come True; DMK Chief Responds

Tamil Nadu Assembly elections

Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu are due in April-May 2021 and the political parties have started their campaign. While DMK's MK Stalin is eyeing becoming Chief Minister for the first time, CM E Palaniswami (EPS) is fighting for his re-election. The BJP is yet to make a formal announcement of the alliance with AIADMK and is in talks with Stalin's estranged brother MK Alagiri. On the other side, AIADMK has said that they are the big-brother within the NDA alliance. Meanwhile, Kamal Hassan has put a halt to his campaign trail due to a leg surgery. Superstar Rajinikanth who was about to launch his party this year has backed out due to health reasons. 

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