CHENNAI: Asserting that DMK chief M Karunanidhi did not have locus standi to claim Ravana’s legacy as he failed to prevent the massacre of Sri Lankan Tamils at Mullivaikkal, Social Welfare Minister B Valarmathi on Monday said Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa is the true ‘Dravida Thaai’ (Dravidian mother).
Replying to the discussion on demand for grants to her ministry, Valarmathi lashed out at the DMK president and said he could only claim the legacy of former Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa. On the other hand, Jayalalithaa inherits the graceful qualities of all the three royal clans - Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas- and is therefore the ‘Dravida Thaai’, the minister said.
Valarmathi said,”The total allocation for social welfare department in the five years of DMK government was only Rs 8,574.21 crore, but the allocation during the AIADMK regime thus far was Rs 18,759.59 crore”. In the marriage assistance scheme, over six lakh people had benefited. Under the cradle baby scheme,4,764 children including 853 male babies were saved since its inception by Jayalalithaa in 1992. It has become a model scheme for States including Gujarat and Haryana, the minister pointed out.