Union Shipping Minister G.K. Vasan on Tuesday accused the State government of stalling the development programmes of the Union government.
“The Congress government has been reflecting the aspirations of all sections of the people and had come up with a slew of development programmes. But in Tamil Nadu, the programmes are being stalled by the AIADMK government. You should not forgive those who stalled the development,” he told the electorate.
Campaigning in support of Sarubala R. Tondaiman, the party candidate for the Tiruchi Lok Sabha constituency here, Mr. Vasan said the Centre had been implementing various development initiatives through legislations such as the Food Security Act, Right to Information Act, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, and Right to Education Act to benefit all sections of people.
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“The party, in its manifesto, now promises to usher in right to health, housing and social security,” he said and urged voters to vote for the Congress for stability, continued development, and peaceful co-existence.
The AIADMK government’s only achievement had been to increase the sale of liquor through the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation outlets.
“Congress leader Kamaraj opened schools in every village. But the two Dravidian parties have only managed to open liquor outlets in every village,” he said.
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The State government has increased the burden of people by increasing the price of milk, bus fares and power tariff. Many small and medium industries are being closed down, owing to power shortage in the State, rendering lakhs of people jobless.
“What did the two Dravidian parties do to increase power generation in the State over the last 47 years,” he asked. It was late Kamaraj who laid the foundation for the power sector in the State by setting up many power plants and building reservoirs. It was he who set up the Neyveli Lignite Corporation and the State is still reaping the benefits.
The Congress is the only party which serves as a bridge between the minority and the majority communities.
The country is facing the election at a crucial juncture when communalism is rising its head and voters should put an end to it, he said.