Congress, BJP have nothing much for Tamil Nadu in manifestos

Chennai: Both the Congress and the BJP, two parties that aspire to govern the country for the next five years, seem to have very little to offer the southern states, especially Tamil Nadu, in their election manifestos.

Despite the two national parties not aligning with the Dravidian majors AIADMK and DMK and with there being a multi-cornered fight in place, no effort seems to have been made to appease the Tamil voter by the big national parties.

While the Congress at least makes a brief mention of the Sri Lankan Tamil issue towards the end of its long manifesto document, the Ealam issue does not figure in the BJP’s manifesto for the nation.

In its foreign policy manifesto, Congress claims that if elected to power it would engage with SL to ensure that Tamil-speaking people and other minorities have full equality and equal rights. “We will continue to press the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the 13th amendment and create autonomous provinces, especially in the North and East,” the Congress manifesto states.

The party has also assured all humanitarian and development assistance to Tamil-speaking people.

But there is no mention of Sri Lanka or the party’s stand on the country’s alleged war crimes and the treatment meted out to its Tamil populace.

The only mention of a TN-relevant issue is the party’s claim that the Ram Sethu is a part of the country’s cultural heritage and also of the strategic importance due to its vast thorium deposits.

A brief comparison of the manifestos released by the Dravidian majors unveils the number of crucial poll issues that have been given a miss by the BJP and the Congress.

Some of the top issues in both the AIADMK and DMK manifestos include efforts towards peaceful living for SL Tamils and punitive action for war crimes by the island nation, welfare of TN fishermen who are constantly under attack, retrieval of Katchatheevu, the way forward in the decades-old Cauvery water dispute, strengthening of power corridors to overcome electricity crisis, setting up a second rocket launching centre in TN, and gas exploration in Cauvery basin.