Stalin blames EPS regime for delay in fulfilling poll promises

CHENNAI: Seeking to turn tables on political rivals, especially AIADMK leaders, who have been criticising the government for its alleged delay in fulfilling all the poll promises, DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin said the delay was there in only a few cases and that too was because of the terrible financial situation that the State was in after 10 years of AIADMK rule.

On the other hand, he added, the government rolled out important welfare programmes like free breakfast for government school students and Naan Mudhalvan scheme, which were not part of the manifesto for Assembly polls.

In an interview with Daily Thanthi, Stalin said it took three years for the Tamil Nadu finances to recover from the dire straits that AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami’s misrule left the State in. His government has implemented more than 80 per cent of the promises, and was gradually fulfilling the rest. “We also launched a breakfast scheme for government school students and Naan Mudhalvan scheme, which were not in the manifesto,” he said.

To a question on the State’s debt surging to Rs 7.26 lakh crore as against the revenue of only Rs 3.03 lakh crore, the DMK chief it was because of the BJP- led Union government that has snatched away revenue, including tax collections, from the State. “As the funds that were returned to Tamil Nadu was less, the State was forced to borrow funds to implement new welfare measures,” he added.

When asked about rumours that his foreign trips were to treat health complications, Stalin said, “As you have correctly said, these are merely rumours...

More than my health, the public health is important to me.”

Talking about the row surrounding the ceding of Katchatheevu islet to Sri Lanka, Stalin noted that at a function in Nehru Stadium, Chennai, in 2022, he had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to recover the islet.

“During the past 10 years, the BJP government didn’t take a single step to recover it,” he said, and cited Sri Lankan Minister and cabinet spokesperson Bandula Gunawardane’s recent state- ment that the Katchatheevu issue was not discussed because India did not raise the issue.

“From this, it is evident that the Modi government has not taken any steps to recover Katchatheevu in the last decade,” he said.

When asked about Prime Minister Modi’s repeated allegation that the DMK was prac- tising dynastic politics, Stalin said for every functionary of the DMK, the party was the first family.

The government was functioning in a transparent manner, and would remain so in the future as well, he added.

“This Dravidian model rule is functioning in a very transparent manner. After the registration of documents, like Patta and certificate distribution, have been made online, there is no chance for corruption. The government monitors every scheme to ensure that it reaches the beneficiaries,” Stalin added.