VIRUDHUNAGAR: DMDK State Treasurer Premalatha Vijayakanth confirmed that the party will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, adding that details about the party's alliance, candidate list, and the constituencies that it will be contesting from, will be announced by the party founder and president Vijayakanth, around January.
Addressing media persons in Aruppukottai on Saturday, Premalatha denied rumours about her contesting from the Virudhunagar constituency, and said, "The rumour is being widely circulated in social media. At present, we are preparing for the election, and haven't thought about the constituencies and the contesting candidates." She added that the party will conduct a public meeting with Vijayakanth.
Premalatha also said that she submitted a petition to Governor R N Ravi about several issues plaguing the state for decades, and requested him to take steps on matters pertaining to the Katchatheevu debate and NLCIL. "Only the government keeps changing and not the scenarios. Before the election, parties come up with various resolutions that are not fulfilled after the victory. This is why the state is facing so many protests," she added.
Questioning the existence of women's rights in the state, the DMDK office-bearer pointed out that a large number of people, including teachers who recently protested at the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI), are women. They, she said, have been plagued by issues including payment.
"Instead of heeding to their demands, the state government is making the police detain women at private marriage halls," she said and added that there were around 7,000 women in front of the DPI office on the first day of the protest. Citing unemployment as a reason for youths turning to alcohol and drugs, she pressed the state government to create more jobs.
Premalatha also said Tamil Nadu should follow Gujarat's footsteps and become a dry state. "As an initial measure the working hours and the number of TASMACs need to be reduced," she said.