Any victory for the BJP in the Assembly elections will be harmful for Tamil Nadu. A victory for AIADMK also meant BJP’s victory, DMK president M.K. Stalin said in Madurai during his campaign on Wednesday.
“Though the BJP has no MLA in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, it is the BJP that is ruling the State now. The NDA’s lone member in Lok Sabha, P. Raveendranath Kumar, is acting like a BJP member,” he charged.
Terming Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami as “useless”, Mr. Stalin said the CM has pledged the rights of the State to the Centre. “We are losing one right after the other,” he said. First, the State’s rights on the Cauvery water issue and NEET were lost, Then the State could not get the tax rate under GST reduced or its tax share due from the Centre. The AIIMS announced in 2016 has remained a non-starter, he said.
“The DMK, under the then Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, constructed the new secretariat building. Similarly, the DMK, upon coming to power, will bring the AIIMS to Madurai,” he said.
The AIADMK has failed to conduct the local body elections in entirety. After conducting rural local body elections, the urban local body elections were not held. “I promise that immediately after assuming power, the DMK will hold elections for the Town Panchayats, Municipalities and Corporations,” he said.
Even the government workers were not happy with the AIADMK government. State Transport Corporation workers, noon meal workers, sanitary workers and teachers were all fighting for their demands, Mr. Stalin said.
The price of essential commodities was on the rise after an increase in the electricity tariff, price of milk, petrol and diesel, he charged and compared the present prices of essential commodities to those during the DMK regime. “There is an immense competition between the Modi government and AIADMK government in imposing new taxes on the people which has led to spiralling of prices of essential commodities,” he charged.
With an aim to retrieve Tamil Nadu that has been ruined in the last 10 years, the DMK has introduced seven schemes with a long-term vision that would be implemented in 10 years in phases, Mr. Stalin said seeking votes for the Secular Progressive Alliance candidates, P.T.R. Palanivel Thiagarajan (Madurai Central), G. Thalapathy (Madurai North), C. Chinnammal (Madurai West) and M. Boominathan of (Madurai South).