Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 24 : Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader TKS Elangovan on Tuesday criticised the AIADMK manifesto, alleging that General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami is "afraid of defeat" and is adding new promises and freebies to mislead voters.
Speaking to ANI, Elangovan said that such assurances would not convince the people of Tamil Nadu, as the AIADMK government, according to him, had failed to deliver meaningful benefits during its tenure. He questioned the intent behind the fresh promises, calling them an attempt to secure a few additional seats.
"He is afraid of his defeat. That is why new things are being added to his manifesto, offering freebies to the people. It only shows that he is scared of losing. However, people will not believe him because his government has not done any good for the people of Tamil Nadu right from the beginning. Then why all these promises? Only to mislead people and somehow secure a few more seats," said Elangovan.
Elangovan further recalled that when the DMK had earlier promised Rs 1,000 assistance for women, Palaniswami had dismissed it as unrealistic.
"Now, when he was the Chief Minister, we released our manifesto stating that we would give Rs 1,000 to every woman. But at that time, he said that Stalin was cheating and could not deliver. Now, all these promises are meant only to cheat the people of Tamil Nadu," said Elangovan.
Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu Assembly and AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday released the party's election manifesto, promising Rs 2000 monthly to female heads of households.
Palaniswami released a manifesto with 297 promises, including a special assistance of Rs. 10,000 per family to combat tax burdens and rising prices of goods.
"Under the administratively incompetent Stalin-led DMK regimecharacterised by its lack of visionthe prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed over the past five years. Consequently, the public has been severely affected. Furthermore, various taxesincluding property tax, house tax, electricity tariffs, and water chargeshave been hiked. As a result, the daily financial burden on households has increased manifold. Therefore, with the aim of alleviating this burden on the people, a special assistance sum of Rs. 10,000 will be provided to every family," the manifesto read.
EPS promised the 'Kula Vilakku Scheme' for women, and the manifesto said, "To foster economic equilibrium within society, a monthly assistance allowance of Rs 2,000 will be provided to all ration cardholders through the 'Kula Vilakku Scheme.' This amount will be deposited directly into the bank account of the female head of the household."
AIADMK has also promised that the ration card holders will receive lentils along with rice, and will also receive refrigerators.
The party has promised to extend the free bus travel scheme to men, in addition to women. Three free cooking gas cylinders per year for every ration cardholder, the manifesto said.
Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, with counting scheduled for May 4.
Under the NDA seat-sharing agreement, the alliance led by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will contest over 170 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been allotted 27 seats, followed by the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) with 18 seats, and the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) with 11 seats.
The main electoral contest is expected between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which also includes Congress, DMDK, and the VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by AIADMK with the BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) as allies. Actor-turned-politician Vijay is set to make his electoral debut with TVK, attempting to turn the upcoming elections into a three-way contest.
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