Thrissur: From repealing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and restoring statehood of J&Ok to re-establishing the Planning Commission and placing into place a cooling-off interval for retired judges and civil servants, the DMK’s manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls offers greater than a glimpse of its ambition to play a bigger position in nationwide politics.
The manifesto, launched Wednesday by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.Ok. Stalin on the DMK headquarters in Chennai, advocates repealing many key coverage choices of the BJP-led central authorities together with the National Education Policy (NEP-2020), the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA-2019) and the proposal for ‘One Nation, One Election’.
The get together additionally declared the names of its candidates for 21 parliamentary constituencies within the state.
Over the previous yr, Stalin has been making makes an attempt to painting himself as a nationwide chief. On his seventieth birthday final March, he introduced collectively leaders of opposition events together with the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the National Conference on a single stage.
A month after the occasion, Stalin chaired the All India Federation of Social Justice Conference. Conducted in hybrid mode, the convention witnessed the participation of 19 opposition events. Then Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, then Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot after which Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav have been among the many attendees. Addressing the convention, Stalin had known as for unity towards BJP and its ‘divisive politics’.
“The BJP which came to power in 2014 ruined India. The government headed by PM Modi didn’t fulfil any promises made by the party. If the BJP comes to power again, they will do anything to destroy the nation’s secular fabric and cooperative federal structure,” the DMK chief stated whereas releasing the get together’s 2024 Lok Sabha polls manifesto Wednesday.
He added that the INDIA bloc was fashioned to interchange the ‘authoritarian’ BJP authorities.
The manifesto, he stated, was ready by a workforce comprising DMK MP Kanimozhi and state minister P. Thiaga Rajan, amongst others, who heard the calls for of residents from throughout Tamil Nadu.
“The DMK is a regional party, at the same time we are a part of the INDIA alliance. So, our manifesto expresses the interests of both the state and the nation. When we are advocating for a federal structure, then our manifesto should reflect that and it will address most of the issues of the country,” DMK MP T. Siva stated after the discharge of the manifesto.
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What DMK manifesto proposes
The DMK’s manifesto proposes that statehood be restored to Jammu and Kashmir, adopted instantly by elections for the state legislature. It provides that the livelihood of the individuals of J&Ok shall be improved if a authorities of the INDIA bloc involves energy.
The get together can also be promising to forestall the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to protect the secular nature of India as acknowledged within the Preamble to the Constitution.
It provides that every one ‘people-unfriendly laws’ launched by the BJP authorities over the previous decade shall be reviewed instantly, if the INDIA bloc is voted to energy.
Further, it additionally guarantees that training and healthcare, transferred to the Concurrent List throughout the Emergency, shall be shifted again to the State List.
The DMK additionally proposes re-establishing the Planning Commission, which was dissolved by the BJP authorities and changed by the NITI Aayog. The Planning Commission was fashioned to draft coverage primarily based on requests from state governments.
In addition to this, the DMK manifesto proposes a compulsory cooling-off interval of two years to be launched for retired judges and secretaries earlier than they will be part of personal firms or political events.
The Dravidian get together has additionally promised to waive off academic and farmers’ loans, apart from offering a month-to-month entitlement of Rs 1,000 for girls in each state, removing of toll cubicles on nationwide highways, 50 % reservation in central universities for college kids from respective states, interest-free loans as much as Rs 10 lakh for girls’s self-help teams, along with 33 % reservation for girls in Parliament and state assemblies.
The get together says that the costs of petrol, diesel, and LPG cylinders shall be set at Rs 75, Rs 65, and Rs 500, respectively, if the INDIA bloc is voted to energy.
Further, the DMK’s ballot manifesto focuses on curbing the facility of governors in each state. Section 361 of the Indian Constitution, which offers particular exemption for Governors from authorized proceedings, shall be eliminated to make sure that Governors are additionally topic to judicial scrutiny, it says. The manifesto provides that if voted to energy, the INDIA bloc would additionally provoke actions to nominate governors with the session of chief ministers as really useful. Amendments shall be made to make sure state governments, elected by the individuals, will appoint Vice-Chancellors to universities, somewhat than Governors, it provides.
Kachchatheevu to NEET: Long-pending calls for discover house
The DMK manifesto echoed many calls for made by the Tamil Nadu authorities over the previous few years. For occasion, the DMK stated measures shall be taken to reclaim Kachchatheevu island to make sure India’s safety and to guard the welfare of the fishermen, if the INDIA bloc is voted to energy. Reclamation of the island, at the moment below Sri Lankan management, has been a long-pending demand of the Tamil Nadu authorities with Stalin writing a number of letters to the Centre on completely different events for a similar.
The island, positioned within the Palk Strait about 24 km northeast of Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram and roughly 22 km southwest of Delft Islands in Sri Lanka, has been a bone of rivalry between the India and Sri Lankan governments.
Owing to wealthy marine assets, fishermen of each nations are depending on water surrounding the island, which led to the arrests of Indian fishermen. With the retrieval of the island, the Tamil Nadu authorities seeks a everlasting answer to this challenge.
Another main promise by the get together is an exemption, for college kids from Tamil Nadu, from the NEET examination. The DMK, which has been a vocal critic of the examination, has alleged that this pan India pre-medical entrance take a look at is not ‘merit’ oriented. Tamil Nadu has witnessed a number of situations of deaths of NEET aspirants by suicide over the previous few years.
Apart from these, DMK can also be promising the facilitation of citizenship for Sri Lankan Tamils residing in India, the institution of Tamil departments throughout all universities in India, and making Tamil an optionally available language in all central authorities examinations.
DMK retains 10 sitting MPs
On Wednesday, the DMK additionally declared its candidates for 21 of Tamil Nadu’s 39 Lok Sabha seats. The checklist has three ladies.
According to the seat-sharing settlement struck with its alliance companions, DMK allotted 9 seats to the Congress, 2 every to CPI, CPI(M), and VCK, and one every to IUML, MDMK, and KDMK (who will contest on DMK image).
While the DMK checklist accommodates 10 sitting MPs together with senior leaders Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and T.R. Baalu, outstanding faces corresponding to Goutham Sigamani, sitting Kallakurichi MP and former minister Ok. Ponmudy’s son, and Dindigul MP P. Velusamy, who gained by the biggest margin of greater than 5 lakhs votes within the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Retained MPs embody Dayanidhi Maran (Chennai Central), Kalanidhi Veeraswamy (North Chennai), Thamizhachi Thangapandian (Chennai South), T.R. Baalu (Sriperumbudur), C.N. Annadurai (Tiruvannamalai), Kanimozhi (Thoothukudi), and A. Raja (Nilgiris).
Other candidates declared by the get together are Ok. Selvam (Kancheepuram), Kathir Anand (Vellore), A. Mani (Dharmapuri), Dharani Vendhan (Arani), Malai Arasan (Kallakurichi), Ganapathi Rajkumar (Coimbatore), Jagathrakshakan (Arakkonam), Selvaganapathy (Salem), Eswarasamy (Pollachi), Ok.N. Arun Nehru (Perambalur), Murasoli (Thanjavur), Thanga Tamilselvan (Theni), Dr Rani (Erode), and Prakash (Erode).
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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