 "K Palaniswami, AIADMK")
AIADMK General Secretary K Palaniswami with other party leaders release the party’s manifesto ahead of the Lok Sabha elections at a press conference, in Chennai, Friday, March 22, 2024. (Photo: PTI)
The opposition AIADMK on Friday in its manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections promised Rs 3,000 monthly financial aid to women heads of economically backward families across the country, among other things.
The party would urge the Central government to implement this, the manifesto released by party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami here said.
Appointment of governors for states in consultation with the Chief Ministers, an alternative to NEET, and the establishment of a Supreme Court bench in Chennai were among the 113 electoral assurances made by the AIADMK.
The party would safeguard the state’s rights on the Cauvery issue and stall the construction of a dam at Mekedatu by exerting pressure on the Centre, it said. It would resolve the Mullaiperiyar row and stop the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh government’s move to construct a check dam across the Palar River, the manifesto stated.
The party would implement the AIADMK’s flagship project –Nadanthai Vaazhi Cauvery and revive the Cauvery-Gundar-Vaigai interlinking project and also the Godavari-Cauvery, Parambikulam-Aliyar, and Pandiyar-Punnapuzha linkage schemes. It has proposed a waterway between Chennai and Nagapattinam via Cuddalore, construction of an international cricket stadium in Coimbatore and an AIIMS in the city.
The AIADMK made a host of other assurances including a push for holding the Parliament’s winter session in Chennai, strongly emphasising the need for increased naval presence to safeguard the lives and livelihood of Tamil Nadu fishermen, and enhancing the central contribution for centrally sponsored schemes to 75 percent from the existing 60 percent (with the remaining portion to be met by the state government).
Introducing a monthly pension of Rs 5,000 for farmers with the support of the Centre in addition to three-phase round-the-clock power for the ryots, the party would ask the Union government to guarantee a minimum support price for agriculture products, besides ensuring increased support for MGNREGS.
Total waiver of education loans for graduates, providing dual citizenship for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees residing in India, and establishing IIT and IIM in Madurai were also among the assurances that found a mention in the manifesto.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First Published: Mar 22 2024 | 9:02 PM IST
