CHENNAI: AIADMK Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar lashed out at DMK president MK Stalin for criticising the one-time financial aid to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families and dared him to clarify if he is opposed to giving aid to poor families.
He also refuted the DMK president's charge that the scheme was launched with an eye on the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
“It has become a habit for him (Mr Stalin) to oppose all the schemes brought out by the AIADMK. Even in the Assembly he opposes each and every initiative brought by the AIADMK government for the well-being of the people. Also, he has a track record of approaching the court to stay the implementation of government welfare schemes,” Mr Jayakumar said.
Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, Mr Jayakumar demanded that Stalin clarify if he opposed the distribution of one-time cash dole to BPL families.
On another accusation of the DMK president - that this sum was tantamount to bribing voters ahead of the Lok Sabha election - the minister shot back, “this is a state that upholds social justice. There is no need to bribe anyone.”
Taking strong exception to the state government's announcement of distribution of special grant for 60 lakh BPL families across the state, Mr Stalin tweeted that the ‘special aid’ of Rs 2,000 each to 60 lakh BPL families is aimed to benefit the affluent class supporting the AIADMK. He also questioned the rationale of distributing the sum when the state is “reeling under the debt burden of Rs 4 lakh crore.”
Forms were distributed to many residents of multi-storied apartments in the city, especially in the southern suburbs, in which they had to declare that they did not require the Rs 2000 doled out by the state government. “The Chennai Corporation staff in Zone 14 distributed printed forms to us asking us to sign the declaration that we don’t need Rs 2,000, and return the forms immediately. Many of us have signed and returned the forms saying we don’t require it,” a resident in South Chennai said on Sunday. The form distributed to the residents states that the residents don’t wish to avail of the one-time financial aid (of Rs 2,000) as they pay income tax, professional tax, property tax and possess other amenities.
