Tamil Nadu can never be painted in saffron, says CM Stalin

Asserting that the “saffron brigade” will never be able to paint Tamil Nadu in saffron, DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin threw the gauntlet at the BJP, saying it would never be able to rule the State even if it came wearing the mask of the AIADMK.

“They can paint any State in saffron, but not Tamil Nadu,” he said, addressing a mammoth gathering at the 12th State conference of the party at Siruganur on the outskirts of Tiruchi on Monday (March 9, 2026).

‘We will expose you’

Explaining the reason for his assertion that the 2026 Assembly election was a fight between Tamil Nadu and Delhi, Mr. Stalin said the people of the State know the DMK is the only movement which has the strength to oppose the true enemies of Tamil Nadu, the Tamil language, and its culture. “You cannot deceive the people by wearing the mask of the AIADMK. We will expose you,” he said.

“The saffron brigade wants to swallow Tamil Nadu somehow. But it will never happen as long as the red and black army [the DMK] is here. They know this. That’s why they are trying to slowly swallow the AIADMK. The BJP is trying to destroy the AIADMK completely as in Bihar where it is trying to install a BJP Chief Minister by side-lining Nitish Kumar after winning the election. They are trying to do this in Tamil Nadu too. But I challenge them — the BJP can never rule the State, whatever mask you may wear or agencies you threaten us with,” he said.

‘Seven-point vision achieved’

“In 2021, I outlined a seven-point vision for the development of Tamil Nadu. I can proudly say that I have achieved the goals through various schemes implemented in the last five years. Despite various crises and problems, we have grown,” Mr. Stalin said

Comparing the development parameters during the previous AIAMDK  government and the current government, Mr. Stalin said that during 2016-21, only 471 MoUs were signed for industrial investment. But, under the present government, 1,190 MoUs were signed. During the previous government, Tamil Nadu attracted only ₹4,13,414 crore worth of investments. But, in the last five years, the State had attracted ₹12,54,133 crore in investments.

In the agriculture sector, the area of cultivation under AIADMK rule was 57.26 lakh hectares, which has now grown by more than five lakh  hectares to 62.32 lakh hectares. “Under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, we have increased the number of beneficiaries to 90 lakh from 49 lakh by increasing the income ceiling to ₹1.20 lakh from ₹72,000. After 14 years, Tamil Nadu has recorded 11.19% economic growth. “We have such a long list of achievements that we could not even fully explain them to the people. Even if only the beneficiaries of our schemes vote for us, we will sweep the election,” Mr. Stalin said.

Taking a dig at the Opposition for announcing their election promises in “instalments”, Mr. Stalin said they were copying the schemes implemented by the DMK. For, none of the parties can stop the schemes implemented by the present government. “Can any of the parties stop schemes such as Mahalir Urimair Thogai and Vidiyal Payanam?” he wondered.

The NDA, on the other hand, had not done anything for Tamil Nadu. In the last five years, it had denied the funds the State had sought for education, Jal Jeevan Mission, the rural job scheme, and disaster relief. It was not even bothered to announce something for Tamil Nadu even for the sake of election. “How can you now come seeking votes to Tamil Nadu? How will the people vote for the NDA, which ignores Tamil Nadu deliberately. Tamil Nadu will always say ‘no’ to the NDA, which always says ‘no’ to whatever we ask for.”

‘A grand finish’

Explaining why the conference was being organised now, the DMK  leader gave a cricket analogy: “In a game of cricket, it is important to start hitting runs from the very first ball. At the same time, we have to play the final overs aggressively and make it a grand finish by hitting a six as the winning shot in the last ball. We should get such a victory in the election. That’s why the conference has been organised on such a grand scale by [Minister] K.N. Nehru,” he said.