If Tamil Nadu’s interests ought to be protected, people should vote for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam said DMK treasurer Stalin campaigning in the western districts of Coimbatore and Tirupur.
Speaking on power cut and its impact on industries and the overall economy of the State, Mr. Stalin said that the DMK accepted the fact that there was two-hour power cut during its rule between 2009 and 2014. For the power cut the people had punished the DMK by voting it out of power.
If that was the quantum of punishment for a two-hour power cut, what should be the punishment for the AIADMK which had brought in power cut for more than 12 hours a day, he asked the people.
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He added that the two-hour power cut that was during the DMK rule was because of the poor mismanagement of the power situation by the AIADMK when it was in power between 2001 and 2006.
Earlier, campaigning from a van across Coimbatore and a part of Tirupur, Mr. Stalin once again reached out to the minorities here on Thursday, stating that voting in favour of the alliance led by his party in the State was essential to safeguard their interests and also of socially backward sections.
Voting for the DMK front in Tamil Nadu would, in turn, ensure a secular government at the Centre, he said while campaigning for Coimbatore Lok Sabha Constituency candidate K. Ganesh Kumar in Coimbatore and a part of Tirupur district that comes under the constituency.
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Listing the infrastructure developments the DMK government had brought about in Coimbatore region, Mr. Stalin accused the AIADMK government of not carrying out its promises. “The Chief Minister often makes an announcement or a statement under Assembly Rule 110 and not many of them are implemented,” he said, and exhorted the electorate to be cautious in this election, unlike in the 2011 Assembly elections.
The AIADMK Government had also failed to complete the schemes initiated by the DMK regime, such as underground sewers and the flyover at Gandhipuram in Coimbatore city.
The DMK government had given power tariff concession for powerloom sector in this region. At Sulur, amid cheer from the crowd, he named the villages that benefited out of the Pilloor II Phase Drinking Water Supply scheme. Instead of implementing such schemes, the AIADMK Government was selling water in bottles priced at Rs.10 each, he said.
Mr. Stalin said the DMK had always stood by minorities and had introduced 3.5 per cent reservation in employment and education.
Even while selecting candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, adequate representation were given to Muslims. “Four of the 40 candidates put up by the DMK-led alliance are Muslims, contesting from Ramanathapuram, Vellore, Puducherry and Mayiladuthurai. But the AIADMK has fielded just one,” he said.
(Karthik Madhavan and V.S. Palaniappan in Coimbatore and R. Vimal Kumar in Tirupur )