DMK achieved in 10 months what AIADMK couldn't in 10 years: M K Stalin

Lashing out at the opposition AIADMK for criticising his party on not giving effect to his poll assurances, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin on Wednesday said the DMK government achieved in a short span of 10 months what the AIADMK failed to do during 10 years of its rule.

Also, he promised to implement the decade-old unfulfilled announcements of the AIADMK regime provided they are beneficial to the people. Making an announcement under rule 110 in the Assembly on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said immediately after assuming charge on May 7 (last year) he signed five files. Gradually, government orders (GO) were issued to implement 208 out of 505 poll assurances. But on the contrary, from 2011 to 2021, the AIADMK regime made 537 announcements under Assembly rule 110, but had not implemented any of them. "Their announcements still remain on paper and were made only for the sake of publicity," Stalin said. While the government under him was delivering on its promises, the opposition party keeps on asking questions. "It's like asking about the tenth standard marks of a 10-month-old baby. Let me tell you, this child will not only score high grades in the tenth standard but also win a medal in the graduation," the Chief Minister said amid thumping of treasury benches.

 

Listing out the announcements of the AIADMK, he said the party neither kept the promises it made in 2011 and 2016 Assembly elections nor fulfilled the announcements made when it was in power. "You (AIADMK government) had announced to conduct the global investors meet (GIM) once every two years but it was held only once in the last five years," Stalin said.

The announcements on establishing a satellite city in suburban Thirumalisai, an integrated satellite city near Madurai airport, free cell phones to ration cardholders, free Wi-Fi in public places and Rs 500 coupon to ration cardholders to buy clothes for Pongal at Co-optex and other promises made by the AIADMK were not fulfilled. Even the announcement on constructing a flyover between Meenambakkam and Chengalpattu, coastal road project from Chennai to Kanyakumari, Aero Park, Mobile e-Governance programme and Monorail project, to name a few, never took off.

The AIADMK regime made a total of 507 promises, including 186 in its 2011 election manifesto and 321 in its 2016 election manifesto, and despite being at the helm for 10 years, the party passed orders to implement only 269. He said orders were not issued for 20 announcements made for an outlay of Rs 9,741 crore.

"As I have already mentioned, during the last 10 months, the DMK government made 208 announcements out of 505 poll promises and GO were issued to implement 171 of them," he said.

Recalling DMK founder and former Chief Minister C N Annadurai's quote "matran thottathu malligaikkum manam undu" (even the jasmine in neighbour's garden have fragrance), Stalin assured to implement the announcements of the AIADMK regime if they were beneficial to the people.