Senior BJP leader and Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Pon. Radhakrishnan on Saturday challenged the DMK to come out with an account of its tangible contributions to the development of Tamil Nadu during its five-decade-long rule in the State.
For all its tall claims and posturing as the guardian of the Tamil language and identity, the DMK had little to show in the fields of education, agriculture or infrastructure development in the State, Mr. Radhakrishnan told reporters on the sidelines of a public function here.
“All the gimmicks and weary slogans of the DMK in the name of language and Dravidian movement would not hold any water any more since the youth is well aware of the DMK’s poor track record,” Mr. Radhakrishnan said. Youngsters are no longer enrolling in the DMK as the party was in rapid decline, he claimed.
On the BJP’s efforts to expand the party in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Radhakrishnan said, “We are doing everything in a fair and democratic manner.”
On the widespread opposition to the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), Mr. Radhakrishnan said those opposing the system were only misleading the student community, whether in Tamil Nadu or in Puducherry. The governments should do justice to the students and raise their educational standards on a par with private schools, he said.
On NH reclassification
Slamming the decision of various State governments to reclassify national and state highways into district roads to circumvent the Supreme Court ban on highway liquor outlets, he said there could be no justification for the move as it would not reduce the number of accidents. Over 1.5 lakh people die in road accidents every year. Most of the victims were in the age group of 15 to 34 years. The BJP fully endorsed the order of the Supreme Court to shift liquor shops from national and state highways, he added.
Mr. Radhakrishnan advised the Puducherry government to abstain from spending money on freebies. Instead, the government should concentrate on revenue generation and development of infrastructure.
Referring to the recent turf war between the Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and the elected Ministry, he said Ms. Bedi could not be faulted for listening to the grievances of the people. The Chief Minister as the head of the government and the Lt. Governor on her part were only performing their duties within the demarcated areas, he said.
