Tamil Nadu CM Stalin welcomes Rahul's 'rousing' speech in Parliament

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday hailed Rahul Gandhi for his "rousing" speech in Lok Sabha and said the Congress MP had voiced the long-standing arguments of Tamils in the Parliament.

In a Twitter post, the DMK president thanked Gandhi on behalf of "all Tamils" for his parliament speech.

"Dear Rahul Gandhi, I thank you on behalf of all Tamils for your rousing speech in the Parliament, expressing the idea of the Indian Constitution in an emphatic manner. You have voiced the long-standing arguments of Tamils in the Parliament, which rest on the unique cultural and political roots that value self respect," Stalin said.

He later dialed the Congress leader and thanked him for making a 'historic' speech about Tamil Nadu in the Parliament, a DMK release said.

Launching a full-blown attack on the BJP government at the Centre on Wednesday, among others, Gandhi accused the ruling party of bringing back the idea of a "king of India" that was "smashed in 1947" and targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the "idea of a king is back".

"India is described in the Constitution as a union of states and not as a nation. One cannot rule over the people of a state in India. Different languages and cultures cannot be suppressed. It is a partnership, not a kingdom." "We smashed that idea of a king. Now, that idea of a king has come back, that there is a king, a Shahenshah, a ruler of rulers, a master of masters... What is happening in the instrument of the conversation between our states? The instruments of the conversation between our peoples, what we call the institutions of our country are being attacked and captured by one idea," he had said.

Batting for cooperative federalism, Gandhi said the only way India has been ruled over the decades was through conversations. He had also said the states in the country do not have a voice in the present system and insisted that the only way to govern India is through conversations.