With just 30 days remaining for the April 18 election to Lok Sabha from Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK and the DMK, leading the two rival fronts in the State came out on Tuesday with their election manifestos which are enticing and capable of creating irresistible temptation in the minds of the electorate.
The AIADMK, contesting in 20 Lok Sabha seats from the State, has declared that if elected, the party would ensure the implementation of Amma National Poverty Eradication Initiative (ANPEI), a scheme by which all needy families in the country would be paid Rs 1,500 per month as direct transfer to their bank accounts.
The party wants the poor and the deprived people living below poverty line, destitute women, widows without income, differently-abled, landless agricultural labourers, rural and urban manual labourers, destitute senior citizens should be the beneficiaries of this scheme.
It has also promised to waive off all educational loans availed by students and agricultural loans availed by small and medium farmers of the country.
Though the AIADMK and the DMK are in the diametrically opposite poles of the political spectrum and known for their hatred towards each other, there is convergence of thoughts in their offers to the electorate. Both the parties have assured the voters that they would pressurise the Centre to release from prison the seven accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case serving life term. Both the parties want the abolition of National Eligibility and Entrance Examination (NEET), the qualifying test for admission to undergraduate and post graduate medical courses in the country. The demand to do away with the NEET comes at a time when the Centre is seriously mulling over the possibility of bringing a common entrance examination for admission to engineering colleges too.
The DMK assured the voters that if voted to power, the party would abolish the present pricing system of petroleum products and revert to the Administered Pricing Mechanism.
Catering to the demands raised by the minority communities in the country, the AIADMK said it would impress upon the President not to amend the constitution to bring in Uniform Civil Code. The AIADMK also promised the electorate that it would urge Government of India to enact due legislation to enable the implementation of Reservation Policy in Private Sector also, in order to provide social justice to the SC/ST, MBC and BC categories of our people.
The party also said that it would urge the Government of India to accept the recommendation of Justice Sachar Committee to treat the Christian - converted SCs/STs, BCs and MBCs and the Muslim-converted SCs/STs/BCs/MBCs as regular SCs/STs/BCs/MBCs and provide them with all concessions now provided for the regular SCs/STs/BCs/MBCs.
The DMK’s manifesto, release by party chief M K Stalin said it would ask the Centre to appoint 10 million youth who have studied upto 10th standard as road workers to maintain roads in the country. The DMK also wanted the Income Tax limit to be raised to Rs 8 lakh.
The DMK also demanded that 60 per cent of the total tax revenue of the Centre should be shared with the States. The party manifesto insists that only the Inter-State Council should decide the terms of reference of the constitution of the Finance Commission. Also, the criteria for allocation of tax revenue should give equal weightage for performance and equity so that States such as Tamil Nadu get their due share that will encourage further growth.
The AIADMK manifesto was released by Chief Minister Edappady Palaniswamy and his deputy O Panneerselvam.