AIADMK co-coordinator and Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Friday charged that the DMK government had betrayed 16 lakh government employees and their family members by failing to implement the old pension scheme that it had promised in its election manifesto.
Addressing the media after inaugurating his party’s free tailoring classes for women in Salem, he recalled that the DMK had announced the old pension scheme would be implemented again, replacing the new pension scheme. However, now Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan has said that restoring the old pension scheme was not feasible. “Employees and their families believed their [DMK’s] promise and supported them during the election. They are being betrayed now,” he said and charged that the DMK government had cheated both literates and illiterates by failing to fulfil its promises.
Mr. Palaniswami said the DMK said in its manifesto that construction materials would be listed as essential items and be made available at a fair price. “But the cost of materials have skyrocketed and the government failed to control the price,” he said. The price of a cement bag had gone from ₹290 in the AIADMK regime to ₹480 now and the cost of a tonne of steel had gone up from ₹32,000 to ₹92,000 now, he alleged and questioned the purpose of their manifesto.
“Since the DMK has no scheme for improving the financial position, they would increase bus fare, power tariff and milk price soon,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
Property tax hike
Reacting to the government’s proposal for increasing property tax every year, Mr. Palaniswami said while people were slowly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the recent hike [in property tax] was a big burden. “But the proposal [for annual hike] is yet another blow for them,” he added.
When asked about Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s announcement that industries would not be allowed in the Protected Agricultural Zone in Cauvery delta region, Mr. Palaniswami said the previous AIADMK regime had enacted the Tamil Nadu Protected Agricultural Zone Development Act, 2020, which prevented starting industries in the region. “Even if Mr. Stalin thinks of bringing industries in the region, he cannot,” he said.
