The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government of running an “electoral dictatorship”, reported PTI. At a meeting of district secretaries, MPs and MLAs chaired by MK Stalin, the party said it will uphold Constitutional values and defeat the BJP’s “saffronisation dreams”.

This was Stalin’s first meeting ever since he took charge as the party president. During the meeting, the DMK members attacked the Centre over demonetisation, Rafale deal, NEET and the current economic situation. The party said demonetisation was announced in “haste” and called the Goods and Service Tax a “goof-up”.

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“The BJP government is ignoring the interests of Tamil Nadu, affecting plurality and promoting communalism, even as human rights activists and those opposed to the BJP are being painted as anti-nationals,” reads a resolution adopted by the party, according to PTI. The resolution, titled “Will reject BJP’s saffronisation dreams”, said an “undeclared emergency” was in place.

The DMK also accused the BJP of controlling institutions like the Election Commission, Income Tax Department and the Central Bureau of Investigation. Referring to the press conference by four Supreme Court judges earlier this year, the party said “there is a crisis” even in the judiciary.

The DMK also launched an attack on the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The party announced state-wide protests against the state government on September 18.

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Protesting against the alleged gutkha scam in the state, the DMK called for the dismissal of Health Minister C Vijayabaskar and police chief TK Rajendran. On Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation conducted searches at their respective premises.

The party also demanded that the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case be released immediately. The Tamil Nadu Cabinet must adopt a resolution on the matter and send it to the governor, the DMK said.