Aravakuruchi by-poll campaign: MK Stalin announces free land scheme for poor
ARAVAKURUCHI: The DMK president M K Stalin has assured to implement a new free land scheme for the landless poor once the DMK came back to power in Tamil Nadu. Expanding on a scheme proposed by former minister Senthil Balaji, the DMK's contesting candidate for the May 19 Aravakurichi by-poll to the State Assembly, to grant three cents of land free to 25,000 landless poor persons in the Assembly constituency, Stalin said that, "this scheme will not only be implemented in Aravakuruchi segment, but throughout Tamil Nadu after DMK comes to power."
Campaigning for the last two days for Senthil Balaji at various places of this constituency which falls within Karur district, Stalin said his father and late Chief Minister, M Karunanidhi had first pioneered the scheme of free land for the landless poor under the title, 'Kalaignar Veetu Vasadhi Thittam'.
Stalin said the subsequent AIADMK regime did not like the word 'Kalaignar' to figure in the name of the scheme for their "own political ends" and rechristened it as "Green Houses" scheme. But even during the earlier DMK period, 6.70 lakh 'free house sites' had been distributed to the landless poor, he pointed out, adding, the scheme now flagged by Senthil Balaji "has made me feel" to revisit the free land scheme for the landless poor and extend it throughout Tamil Nadu, on the lines of the scheme implemented earlier by DMK.
Urging the electorate to support Senthil Balaji again, as he had been elected from Aravakuruchi earlier and was well conversant with the needs of the people here and the schemes required augmenting agriculture in this part of the Cauvery delta area, Stalin explained why 18 Assembly by-polls had to be held first with the recent Lok Sabha elections. It was fallout of the abrupt disqualification of 18 AIADMK MLAs' by the Speaker on Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami's alleged prodding, as those MLAs' had given a letter to the Governor seeking change in the legislature party leadership amid mounting charges of corruption against the CM. Senthil Balaji was one of those MLAs' who signed in that petition seeking a change in leadership, hence he lost his seat and Aravakurichi had remained without a representation for over a year, the DMK chief further explained. Re-electing Senthil Balaji will thus help to fulfill the constituency's needs, he said.
Stalin said just as the Lok Sabha vote was to remove Narendra Modi from power at the Centre, the process of removing Edappadi Palaniswami from the State Gaddi would be completed with these four additional by-polls to the Assembly on May 19, which the DMK "is sure to win". After May 23, when results are declared, Stalin expressed confidence that there will be a new government both in New Delhi and in Fort St George in Chennai.
The DMK chief said in the new political circumstances, the DMK was sensitive to the people's wish for good governance and transparency in administration. "We already have a list of corruption charges against various ministers in the present AIADMK government and action will be taken against them once DMK came back to power," he said.
Stalin also dwelt in some detail on several irrigation, water supply and infrastructure projects needed for Aravakuruchi, assuring the people that the DMK would implement all of them.
Three important demands of the local electorate he underscored was to regularise all the contract workers of the Tamil Nadu Newsprint Limited (TNPL) at Kagithapuram near Karur, additional infrastructure needs of K.Paramathi panchayat union and a new railway line connecting Karur to the hosiery town of Tirupur via Vellakoil.
