Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will take steps to close down the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tirunelveli district. In its election manifesto, released by party general secretary Vaiko here on Saturday, the party also promised to make the State free from nuclear power plants.
Mr. Vaiko said the Bharatiya Janata Party would emerge as the single largest party and be in a position to form the next government and its candidate Narendra Modi would become the Prime Minister even without the support of the 40 MPs in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Endorsing a ‘Modi wave’ across the country, he appealed to voters to support the National Democratic Alliance in the State as the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance had betrayed Tamils on various issues. “I appeal to the voters to support the BJP-led alliance if they want to save the State from corruption and liquor…we will erase the tears of the Eelam Tamils and protect the Tamil Nadu fishermen,” he said.
Mr. Vaiko demanded that 50 per cent of the tax collected from States be returned through the Planning Commission. His party would strive for achieving State autonomy which would only reinforce Centre-State relations and federalism.
Reservation policy
The manifesto promised to ensure implementation of reservation policy in 47 institutions of higher education, including the IITs, IIMs and NITs, by removing obstacles that came in the way of social justice.
While demanding that the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) be revoked, the party said a referendum was the only solution to the problem of Eelam Tamils.
The United Nations should conduct the referendum with India’s support and facilitate Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora to cast their vote.
State status to Puducherry
Among other assurances made to the voters were the implementation of the Sachar Committee and Ranganath Committee recommendations on education and employment to minorities, separate State status to the Union Territory of Puducherry, retrieval of Katchatheevu, abolition of death penalty, linking of rivers and abolition ‘Dam Safety Bill’ that threatened the Centre-State bond.
