T.N. should give ‘zero’ seats to BJP in Assembly election for providing nothing to the State: Stalin

DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said on Saturday that Tamil Nadu should give “zero”-seat tally to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Assembly election as the BJP-led Union government had given “zero” to Tamil Nadu in the Union Budget and did not fulfil the genuine demands of the State.

Addressing the South Zone DMK Youth Wing conference near here, Mr. Stalin said Tamil Nadu had been the ‘numero uno’ State in the country in all departments during the last five-year rule of the DMK. “It has been ranked number one in the Union government’s ratings and also by national and international magazines. Tamil Nadu’s progress has no parallel,” he said.

However, Tamil Nadu has got nothing in the Union Budget, belying the anticipation that the poll-bound State would get some benefits from the Union government. Mr. Stalin said all that Tamil Nadu demanded was more funds for disaster management, Metro Rail, drinking water schemes, and railway projects, permission for the new airport in Hosur, 50% devolution of Central funds to the State, exemption from NEET, expedited construction of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Madurai, and the promise of not reducing the number of Lok Sabha seats under delimitation. But nothing has been granted by the Union government. “They gave us zero. The BJP-led NDA should be given zero in the Assembly election, similar to what they got in the 2024 Lok Sabha election,” Mr. Stalin said.

He ridiculed AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami for claiming that he was the head of the NDA in the State. However, the BJP has made the AIADMK a branch of the national party, and he was not raising his voice in the interest of Tamil Nadu, he alleged.

Mr. Stalin also criticised the AIADMK’s proposed protest against the DMK for preventing the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) scheme.

“Does Mr. Palaniswami even know the name of this new scheme? The Union government did not give [funds for providing] jobs even for 50 days when the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme guaranteed jobs for 100 days. How will the Union government ensure that the jobs are given for 125 days as promised, this when the States have been made to contribute 40% of the funds [towards the scheme]?” he asked.

The BJP that has tasted only defeat in the State and the AIADMK, which has seen multiple defeats, should not only be defeated again in the upcoming Assembly election but also with a bigger margin to make the State more progressive, the Chief Minister added.