Slashing Petrol & Milk Prices, Scrapping NEET, Court to Try AIADMK Leaders: DMK Manifesto Highlights

MK Stalin’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Saturday released its manifesto for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections that are to be held in a single phase on April 6. The manifesto, unveiled in Chennai, focuses on developmental plans and direct subsidy measures. It came a day after Stalin released the list of 173 DMK candidates for the elections, announcing that he will contest the Kolathur constituency.

Key promises

• The creation of a new cyber police station to deal with cases involving women.

• All noon meal employees (those involved in the mid-day meal programme) will be made government employees.

• Increase in property tax will be waived.

• The setting up of a department under the chief minister to handle all grievances that came in during Stalin’s campaign programme.

• Milk prices will be slashed by Rs 3/litre.

• Unemployed youth will be provided Rs 20 lakh to start a new business.

• Women employees will be given maternity leave for one year. At present, the provision of leaves is for six months.

• A special court will investigate alleged crimes by the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

• Drinking water will be made available through pipelines in all corporation, including in Chennai.

• Passing a resolution in the first meeting of new assembly against holding NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test ), an emotive issue.

• Prices of petrol and diesel will be reduced Rs 5 and Rs 4, respectively.

• Payment of electricity bill will become monthly instead of bimonthly.

• The creation of a grievance redressal mechanism.

• Assembly proceedings will be telecast live on television.

• Pongal celebrations will be made a state-wide festival event.

• Rs 4,000 will be provided for rice ration card.

• Rs 100-subsidy for cooking gas.

• Free tablet computers for students studying in government schools.

• A Rs 10,000-crore water body preservation project to start under CM’s direct supervision.

• Fast-tracking probe into the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

• A special panel to make Chennai flood-proof.

• A law to provide 75% of the jobs to locals.

• Financial assistance of Rs 25,000 each for one lakh people going on pilgrimage to major Hindu temples.

The big picture

The manifesto caters to a wide range of people: the economically weaker sections, the core DMK vote base, the common man and also a younger population looking for jobs. Stalin promises tablet computers for government school students, taking a leaf from the book of Jayalalithaa, who distributed laptops among school students. He bolsters his Tamil pitch by his job reservation promise and reaches out to Hindus through the proposed financial assistance for pilgrimage. He continues opposing the Centre on the NEET issue.