Chandrababu Naidu slams DMK over Women's quota, bats for NDA in Tamil Nadu

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday questioned the politics of “freebies”, arguing that welfare cannot be sustained without wealth creation, and attacked the DMK over its opposition to the Women’s Reservation Bill during a two-day campaign visit to Tamil Nadu.

Speaking to India Today in Coimbatore, Naidu said development must come before distribution. “Without creating wealth, how can you generate revenue? Without generating revenue, what right do you have to share wealth or give freebies?” he said, adding that some parties were promoting welfare without development, a model he said “cannot sustain”.

ATTACKS DMK, CONGRESS OVER WOMEN’S BILL

Stepping up his attack on the opposition, Naidu said the DMK had done an injustice to women by voting against the Women’s Reservation Bill. He also accused the INDIA bloc, including the DMK and Congress, of harming southern states by obstructing key reforms such as the Women’s Reservation Bill and the delimitation exercise.

“You have to understand that 50 per cent of the population are women. You have to see their anger,” he said, while arguing that the legislation required a constitutional amendment and should have been supported.

Naidu also questioned criticism around delimitation, saying he had earlier sought safeguards for southern states’ proportionate share in Parliament. Referring to discussions with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he said such concerns had been addressed. He also recalled that during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure, population figures from 1971 had been retained for delimitation purposes.

With delimitation due after 2026 and a fresh Census expected, Naidu asked the opposition what exactly it wanted. “You don’t want reservations for women?” he said.

PITCHES ‘DOUBLE ENGINE’ MODEL FOR TAMIL NADU

Making a strong pitch for the NDA, Naidu urged people to back its candidates for the development of Tamil Nadu under a “double engine” government. He said Andhra Pradesh had seen rapid development and rising investments because of coordination between the state and the Centre, and argued that Tamil Nadu could achieve similar progress under NDA rule.

He claimed that Tamil Nadu, once a strong economic state, had lost momentum under the present regime. He appealed to voters to support the NDA alliance, including the AIADMK and BJP, to restore the state’s past glory and accelerate development.

Naidu also called on people to extend support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and advocated the return of “Amma’s governance” in the state.

MEETING WITH INDUSTRY, CULTURAL OUTREACH

During the visit, Naidu met industrialists and business leaders in Coimbatore. The meeting was attended by NDA candidates from various constituencies.

Highlighting historical and cultural ties between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, he said both states share Dravidian roots. He praised Tamil language, culture and the achievements of figures such as Subramania Bharati, Thiruvalluvar, CV Raman and APJ Abdul Kalam.

He also referred to the Telugu Ganga project undertaken during the tenure of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister NT Rama Rao, under which water was supplied to Chennai. Naidu said future interlinking of rivers such as the Godavari and Cauvery could further benefit Tamil Nadu.

SPEECH IN TAMIL DRAWS APPLAUSE

Naidu also sought to strike a personal chord with the audience by speaking in Tamil, drawing appreciation from those present. He greeted the gathering warmly and said he was happy to celebrate his birthday among the people of Tamil Nadu.

NDA candidates present at the event included Vanati Srinivasan from Coimbatore North, Amman K Arjun from Coimbatore South, KR Jayaraman from Singanallur, Arun Kumar from Koundampalayam and Kandaswamy from Sulur.