BJP using women’s quota as weapon against Opposition: Stalin
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has said that his party-led alliance will win over 200 seats in the April 23 Assembly polls, and launched a blistering attack on his rival Edappadi K Palaniswami and the BJP on a number of issues, particularly accusing the saffron party of trying to use the women’s quota as a “weapon” against the opposition.
In an interview, the 73-year-old DMK president also responded to Palaniswami’s “power centre” jibe thrown at his family, and declared that his Government’s initiatives, such as a women’s rights scheme (Rs 1000 per month), which is being replicated in other States in the country, will go down in history as a very important programme. Regarding the Rs 8,000 coupon scheme for purchasing home appliances, he called it the “election superstar”.
Under the scheme, women could buy their chosen products from the shops they wished. He added that it would help improve living standards and strengthen the local economy. When the Women’s Rights Scheme, providing monthly assistance of Rs 1,000, was implemented, several people raised questions.
However, several States implemented this scheme, and other States facing elections have also assured that this initiative will be implemented. “Now, we will successfully implement the Illatharasi Scheme also. It provides Rs 8,000 coupon to beneficiaries. Like the Women’s Rights Scheme, this initiative will also be emulated by States across the country.”
Stalin also dismissed the Enforcement Directorate’s allegations on TASMAC, sandmining scams as “Centre produced, ED-enacted dramas,” and charged that the central agency has been turned “servile.”
“The Union Government is not concerned about implementing reservations for women. If their concerns were genuine, they could have done it right away. Rather than doing that, the BJP-led Centre is thinking of using it as a weapon to tackle opposition and take up the delimitation exercise based on population,” he said.
