Pay arrears to basic income beneficiaries; Tamilisai urges DMK govt

CHENNAI: Telangana Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Union Territory, Tamilisai Soundararajan said on Saturday that it was unlikely that the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) would have asked jailed minister V Senthilbalaji to join BJP.

Addressing the media after attending the Maha Ayush Homam and Gau Daan on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 73rd birth anniversary celebrations, Tamilisai said, "It is unlikely that the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) would have asked jailed minister V Senthil Balaji of DMK to join Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)."

Slamming the DMK government's basic income scheme, the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry said that the state government has to pay all arrears from May 2021 to August 2023 to the KMUT beneficiaries.

"Rs 1,000 under the Kalaingar Magalir Urimai Thogai (KMUT) scheme should have been given to those all eligible. DMK has won by keeping this scheme as an election promise. After two and a half years, they (DMK) started giving Rs 1,000 for the sake of parliamentary elections. Now the ruling DMK has to pay all arrears from May 2021 to August 2023 to the KMUT beneficiaries, " she added.

"Now, the DMK government has introduced a scheme to provide a basic income of Rs 1,000 to women. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the pioneer of this scheme. It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who introduced the Jan Dhan scheme a few years ago. As bank accounts have been opened for everyone through the Jan Dhan scheme, subsidies and stipends for them are directly reaching their bank accounts, " Tamilisai said alluding to the DMK government's KMUT scheme.

Subsequently, the gubernatorial woman said that the PM's Vishwakarma scheme will be a boon to the women to become entrepreneurs.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the PM Vishwakarma scheme on Sunday (September 17) on the occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had recently allotted Rs 13,000 crore for the scheme.

Earlier in the day, the NaMo Education and Charity Trust had organised a Maha Ayush Homam and Gau Daan on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 73rd birth anniversary in Chennai.

Union Minister Parshottam Rupala, MoS L Murugan, Nainar Nagendran and Vinoj P Selvam were also present on the occasion.