Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam treasurer M.K. Stalin, on the third day of his ‘Namakku Naame’ campaign, met members of women’s self-help groups with the assurance of total prohibition, if voted to power.
The assurance given by Mr. Stalin at a meeting organised at Millerpuram here was received with huge applause by SHG members. He said Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had failed to implement the promise of loan of Rs. 10 lakh for women SHGs with 25 per cent subsidy made at the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s 2011 election manifesto. 0He criticised her for claiming credit for the launch of women SHGs in the State, which was actually done by the DMK government in 1989 in Dharmapuri. The DMK leader alleged that the ruling party had stopped the schemes launched for women’s welfare. Mr. Stalin claimed that he did not imitate any other leader by undertaking the campaign and was travelling across Tamil Nadu with a commitment to meet people even when his party was not in power.
Referring to the death of R. Vishnupriya, Tiruchengode DSP, he wondered if this was the case of a high-ranking police officer what would happen to ordinary women.
Farmers’s welfare
The DMK was committed to the welfare of farmers whereas the AIADMK supported the “anti-farmer” Land Acquisition Bill introduced by the Centre, Mr. Stalin said while addressing farmers at Ponankurichi. DMK president Karunanidhi, who was the first to oppose the Bill, waived Rs. 7,000-crore farm loans in 2006. But, the Farmers’ Welfare Board formed by the DMK government was inactive, and 68 farmers had committed suicide this year since crop loans were not disbursed and wheat and sugarcane cultivated by them did not fetch good price.
Mr. Stalin later visited a salt pan on Tiruchendur Road and interacted with workers, who complained that wages paid by producers were inadequate. Then, he met students of various colleges from Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Ramanathapuram districts. After listening to the students, he said that expectations of people would be incorporated in the party’s poll manifesto.
