It's a dummy manifesto from Jayalalithaa, says MK Stalin

Virudhunagar/Chennai: Charging the AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa with copying from his party manifesto, DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin said she need not have delayed her release by 25 days just for that.

“We would have given her our copyright if she had asked; she need not have spent 25 days discussing with officials and others to bring out her manifesto…It's a dummy manifesto from mummy”, he told a huge poll rally at Aruppukottai on Thursday, while campaigning for former minister KKSSR Ramachandran.

“I have challenged Jayalalithaa many times to face me in a debate on the same stage. Let her bring all her election promises. If she cannot come, let her at least send her second-in-command. There has not been any response from her till now", Stalin said as the crowd cheered lustily.

"Jayalalithaa had boasted that she could not sight any adversary, that there was none as far as her eyesight could go. But now do you know to what extent she was scared and disturbed seeing the DMK poll manifesto? She could bring out her party manifesto only a month after we released ours", the DMK leader said.

He alleged that the AIADMK supremo had virtually copied from the DMK manifesto. “She took our manifesto and released it after merely pasting her sticker on it". And for preparing such a carbon copy of his party's manifesto, Jayalalithaa had spent 25 days taking help from the chief secretary and certain other important officers. “We have the list of those officers. We will look into all that after May 19”, he said.

TN debt will increase: Anbumani: PMK’s chief ministerial candidate Dr Anbumani Ramadoss on Thursday said that the populous schemes announced in AIADMK’s manifesto clearly reflects Jayalalitha’s desperation to retain the power seat. He claimed that the state’s debt would increase by Rs 5.15 lakh crore if the freebies announced by the AIADMK was implemented.

“It is a well known fact that Tamil Nadu is already in debt of Rs 1,01,000 crore. In the last five years of the AIADMK rule, it has risen to Rs 2,47,000 crore. The interest per year paid by the government towards the debt is Rs 23,000 crore. With the current roll out of freebies as promised by the AIADMK general secretary Ms Jayalalithaa, the debt of TN will increase by Rs 5,15,000 crore leaving no way for the government to plan or allocate budgets for developmental activities,” he said in a statement.

From people being made to beg for freebies, he said that the AIADMK manifesto “is an indication that the government will now be in a begging situation if this manifesto is implemented.” Accusing both the DMK and the AIADMK of copying several of his party’s significant announcements, he said the people of the state are definitely not going to be lured by the fake promises.

“I do not promise cellphones or set top boxes, nor scooters or helicopters. Understanding the pulse of the state which is in deep distress, my vision instead is to create 10 million jobs for the youth in TN, provide CBSC quality free education for students,” he noted.