CHENNAI: Reacting to the election promises rolled out by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday, the ruling DMK said Palaniswami’s promises have not only validated the relevance of the ongoing welfare schemes of the MK Stalin government but also showed that AIADMK has no new idea to offer.
In a statement, Natural Resources Minister S Regupathy said Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami had, for the first time, implicitly acknowledged the success of the DMK government’s flagship schemes.
“Palaniswami has merely echoed DMK schemes – Rs 2,000 per month for women, free bus travel for men, housing for all - thereby effectively endorsing the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai (Rs 1,000 per month for women), the Vidiyal Payanam free bus travel scheme for women, and the Kalaignar Kanavu Illam housing programme,” Regupathy said.
Regupathy also pointed out that ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Palaniswami had promised Rs 2,000 to 60 lakh poor families but paid merely 32 beneficiaries while spending Rs 1.12 crore on publicity for this scheme. No further payment followed.
“Having failed to deliver when in power, his new promise of Rs 2,000 per month appears to be another attempt to mislead voters.”
The minister added that Palaniswami has reached a “pitiable stage” where he has nothing new to offer and is resorting to announcing “copy-paste” promises lifted straight from schemes successfully implemented by DMK. “AIADMK’s adoption of Dravidian model schemes as its own promises only reinforces the view that the DMK will return to power,” he added.
Meanwhile, Industries Minister TRB Rajaa, in a statement, said when DMK released its election manifesto in 2021, Palaniswami had said Tamil Nadu’s financial position was weak and that none of those promises could ever be implemented.
Yet, while taking Tamil Nadu forward on all fronts, Chief Minister MK Stalin has successfully delivered every single measure that the Leader of the Opposition had claimed the DMK could not implement.
“Please wait. Do not strain your brain now. As always, once the DMK election manifesto is released, you can then copy it in full on your old photocopy machine,” Rajaa said.