DMK MLA P.T.R. Palanivel Thiagarajan on January 5 charged that the government treasury was empty and the ruling AIADMK had borrowed money to distribute the Pongal gift, which included ₹2,500 cash, to rice ration card holders.
He said the DMK was not opposed to the distribution of gift hamper. “The DMK president had sought disbursement of ₹5,000 as financial aid for all those whose lives and livelihoods were crippled due to COVID-19,” he said. He alleged that Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and the AIADMK had ignored this and were now claiming credit for distribution of the hampers, misleading the public.
Addressing a Makkal Gram Sabha meeting in his Madurai Central constituency, he alleged that the Central and State governments wasted public money in the guise of implementing Smart City projects. He charged that the governments, without consulting residents and tax paying citizens, were attempting to bring in transformation, which would not be of any use to the people.
Claiming that only the DMK could end such disconnect and provide relief, he urge the people to vote for the party in the upcoming Assembly elections and make Stalin the Chief Minister.
Assuring the people of a change for the better, the MLA said that without holding elections to the Municipal Corporation, the government had hurriedly allocated funds for Smart City projects. “In the absence of Councillors, officials and Ministers were siphoning funds by awarding contracts to their favoured candidats,” he alleged.
Recalling his father and former Speaker P.T.R. Palanivelrajan’s contributions, he said the people ought to give an opportunity to the DMK again in the elections for more development in an organised and transparent manner.
Sharing his progress card as MLA with residents of S.S. Colony, he said, with the MLA Constituency Development Fund, he had built anganwadis, laid roads, dug borewells and also helped senior citizens with old age pension from the government.
When people pointed to the bad roads in Madurai city, Dr. Thiagarajan attributed it to the poor planning of the civic authorities and asked them to wait for “just another 100 days”.