Edappadi K Palaniswami Comes Up With Phase II of Manifesto
EPS targets youth, elderly and workers with welfare promises ahead of elections
Chennai: In an apparent bid to appease the elderly, the youth, minorities, women and jallikattu enthusiasts, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami came up with his ‘second instalment’ of election manifesto that promised, among other things, three free LPG cylinders every year as livelihood assistance and an increase in social pension for senior citizens and others from the present Rs 1,200 to Rs 2000 a month.
Addressing the media on Wednesday after a meeting of party district secretaries, Palaniswami unveiled five new promises in the second phase of the manifesto, including the writing off of education loans taken by students with the government taking over the burden from the parents and a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for those laying down their lives while taking part in Jallikattu events.
He also assured that a subsidy of Rs 25,000 for auto rickshaw drivers that was announced by him at a public meeting, saying that it would be made part of the manifesto, on which many more announcements would come based on demands raised by the people with the final and comprehensive manifesto being brought out soon by the election committee.
The AIADMK chief had surprised everyone earlier by releasing the first phase of this party’s manifesto on January 17 much before the sounding of the bugle for the elections and even ahead of the parties had finalized their alliances, promising among other things the doubling of the monthly assistance of Rs 1000 to women, which is a signature welfare scheme of the DMK government, and free bus travel for men.
Now the AIADMK, addressing the concerns of other sections of people like women from the minority communities, who would be given interest free loans to start new business, and the differently abled, whose loans taken from cooperative banks would be written off, according to phase two of the manifesto.
Replying to queries from the media, he said that the auto rickshaw drivers had submitted many demands and all of them would be considered and then included in the manifesto.
On Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam president Vijay describing AIADMK as a corrupt force, Palaniswami wondered how he could do it after calling MGR and J Jayalalithaa as role models and also having a former AIADMK leader K A Sengottaiyan in his party.
