Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin launched a scathing attack on the opposition parties in the State, particularly the AIADMK for rushing to the Governor with a list of complaints and the BJP for trying to create scare when there was no danger of the people, without naming them.
Speaking at a government function in Ariyalur district where he launched a slew of completed development works and laid the foundation for new projects in both Ariyalur and Perambalur districts, besides distributing assistance to beneficiaries under a wide range of schemes on Tuesday, Stalin said the earlier regime had pushed the State into an abyss in the last 10 years.
Though it was very difficult to salvage the State from that abyss, the DMK government had managed to do it which was evident from the industries vying to set up business in Tamil Nadu, which had topped in exports and was progressing successfully in all departments now, he said.
Agricultural production had increased, the area under cultivation had gone up and the State had won awards in higher and school education after the DMK came to power, he said, listing a few other achievements like giving 1.5 lakh free power connections to farmers, protecting the State’s rights from the Union Government, defeating the Coronavirus and saving the people from the floods caused by rains.
Taking an indirect swipe at the BJP, Stalin said that some people were conspiring to disrupt the law and order in the State, where everything was alright, and were disappointed that they could not succeed in spoiling the peace in the State.
He said people were crying ‘danger, danger’ when everything was normal just because they were not sure if they would be able to hold on to power for long and urged the people not to worry because they were safe under the DMK regime.
Making it clear that he welcomed criticism, he said any criticism should be constructive and not noxious and those who make it should have the credibility to criticize others. People who did nothing when power was in their hands had no locus standi to point fingers at others as though they were saints and the righteous, he said.
Tamil Nadu would not only regain all that it lost but would also gain greater glory to reach new heights during the DMK rule as it worked towards achieving that goal, he said.
The Chief Minister announced that a museum would be set up at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, which was the Capital of King Rajendra Chola, who shifted his base from Thanjavur and came to Ariyalur district.
Apart from honouring Rajendra Chola, the museum would highlight his achievements in making voyages to faraway lands, marine trade and in ship-building, besides establishing business links with Western as well as Eastern nations.
He referred to the excavations being carried out at Maligaimedu that had yielded evidence on Rajendra Chola’s trade connections with far off countries and said that Rs 5 crore had been allocated for the archeological research in Ariyalur district.
Historically, Ariyalur district was important to the DMK because it was in a protest to rename Dalmiapuram railway station as Kallakurichi that M Karunanidhi laid down on the railway track as a young political activist. Also it was Karunanidhi who carved Ariyalur out of Perambalur district during his tenure as Chief Minister.
Speaking of the various salient features of the district, Stalin said Transport Minister S S Sivashankar, who hailed from Ariyalur had done a great job by addressing the long-pending grievances of the transport department employees, besides taking initiatives in improving the government bus services.
He recalled Anita, the girl from Ariyalur who had become an icon for the NEET abolition movement in the State, and said that it was Sivashankar who supported her to take up a legal fight against NEET to establish her educational rights.
