Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 20: Even as the rival AIADMK and the DMDK finalised their poll alliance, the ruling DMK on Wednesday released its election manifesto virtually on behalf of the multi-party INDIA bloc making promises to scrap “one nation, one election” scheme and withdraw the Citizens Amendment ACT (CAA) if the opposition group come to power in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
The DMK is part of the Congress-led INDIA bloc formed in June last year to stop Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP-led NDA from claiming a third consecutive term.
The DMK has also vowed to remove Tamil Nadu from the scope of the National Entrance Eligibility Test (NEET) which is administered for admission to medical courses. The state is a fierce critic of the exam; in February last year it moved the Supreme Court claiming the single-window common test is violates federal principles, since it takes away states’ decision-making ability regarding education.
Released by the Chief Minister MK Stalin and senior leaders, including Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi, the DMK has laid out a strong agenda of reviewing the BJP’s “anti-people laws”, including the National Education Policy, which it has heavily criticised for imposing Hindi on the southern states.
“The DMK continues to do what we say… this is what our leaders taught us. We went all over the state and listened to the people. This is not just a DMK manifesto… it is the people’s manifesto,” Mr Stalin said, accusing the BJP of having “destroyed India” and failing to fulfil their promises.
The Chief Minister also took a jab at the Prime Minister, who has made six visits to Tamil Nadu this year. Mr Stalin remarked he would have happier had the PM “come during the time of floods.” Mr Modi has been actively touring the southern states to boost the BJP’s profile. The party has a negligible presence in Tamil Nadu; in the last election it got less than three per cent of the votes.
DMK MP Kanimozhi, who has been nominated to defend her Thoothukudi seat, said the manifesto focused on protecting the federal nature of the country – a concern frequently also raised by Bengal’s Trinamool, another INDIA bloc member, and the rights of state governments. “Our promises are implementable if the INDIA bloc forms the (central) government,” she said, expressing thanks to the DMK for re-fielding her from the Thoothukudi seat.
The DMK today also released a first list of candidates for the 21 seats it will contest; Tamil Nadu has 39 Lok Sabha seats. The rest will go to the Congress and smaller parties, in allotments identical to the 2019 arrangement. Five years ago the DMK-Congress combine swept the state, winning 38 seats. As a part of its seat-sharing agreement with allies, the DMK has left 10 seats, including the lone seat in Puducherry, to the Congress, and given 2 each to the CPI, CPI(M) and VCK while the IUML, MDMK and KMDK will contest one seat each.
“We have seen how much the Dravidian model of government has done for the people of this state, and this manifesto will help us take our Dravidian model all over India. I am sure of securing not only all seats in Tamil Nadu, but a good number across the country too…” Kanimozhi said.
Among other big-ticket promises made by the DMK are drastic cuts to the prices of petrol, diesel, and LPG (cooking gas) to ₹ 75 and ₹ 65 per litre and ₹ 500 per cylinder, free Wi-Fi services across the state, statehood for Puducherry, scrapping of the Uniform Civil Code, and the immediate implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures.
There is also a focus on students and women empowerment in the manifesto, which promises interest-free loans of up to ₹ 4 lakh for students and ₹ 10 lakh for women self-help groups. A raft of central government-backed research and higher education institutions, including IIMs and IITs, will be set up in the state, and college students will get 1GB of mobile data free, the DMK said.
A significant point is a two-year “cooling period” for judges looking to join private companies or political parties after their retirement. This point has been seen against the backdrop of former Bengal High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay stepping down and joining the BJP the next day.
Also significant is a promise to review the process by which Governors are appointed and to remove any immunity afforded to these posts. This is key because the Tamil Nadu government has been engaged in a running battle with Governors over the past few years, accusing the centre’s representative of interfering in state governance and deliberately denying assent to key bills.
The AIADMK and the DMDK have signed a seat-sharing pact. The DMDK will contest in 5 Lok Sabha constituencies – Tiruvallur, Central Chennai, Cuddalore, Thanjavur and Virudhunagar. Tamil Nadu votes in a single phase on April 19, the first day of polling for the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Results will be declared on June 4.
